Storm Hawks: Beginnings
by CarlottaStudios
Summary: Aerrow is an orphan drifter in Atmos. Soon, he'll encounter other orphans like him, and befriend them. These are the beginnings of the storm hawks.
1. Chapter 1

The morning air was a little chilly, but still held a certain sweetness. There was the smell of dew, mixed in with the scents of grass and fresh air. Apart from the singing of birds and the breeze rustling the grass, no sound disturbed the peace. Under the shade of a tree, a small boy still slept on a bed of leaves, curled up like a snoozing kitten. He looked far too young and vulnerable to be sleeping out in the wild, open world all alone like that. But he wasn't alone.

Aerrow was awoken by something landing on top of him, startling him out of sleep. He opened his big green eyes to see a small, blue-furred, long-tailed, fluffy-eared animal sitting on his stomach. It chirped in greeting. The red-haired boy laughed.

"Morning Radarr." he said, ruffling the fur on the creature's head. "Did you get breakfast?"

Radarr chirped again and held out his hand-like paws. In his palms, he held a bunch of berries.

"Skyberries!" Aerrow said, smiling at the plump, blueish-purple fruits. "Awesome!"

He popped a berry into his mouth, chewing slowly to fully appreciate the explosion of flavor. Radarr immediately began scarfing down his own portion, covering his face in indigo-colored juice. For several minutes, the two ate happily, until there was only one left. Radarr's ears lowered and he whined, sorry that he wasn't able to find another. Aerrow glanced at the berry. He was still hungry, but he offered the berry to Radarr anyway.

"Here, you take it." he said, holding it out to the animal.

Radarr crossed his arms and shook his head. It wouldn't be fair if he took it! Aerrow was three times his size for Atmos' sake! He needed much more food than Radarr himself did. Plus, he was already way too skinny for his age in Radarr's opinion. Granted, the furry guy hadn't been around many humans Aerrow's age, but you didn't need an expert to know that only a few berries wasn't enough for a growing boy.

Aerrow smiled gratefully, finally eating the last skyberry. Then he stood and walked around the tree with Radarr at his heels. Behind it, there stood a skimmer. It was a somewhat old model, silver, its paint faded away, and a little rusty in some spots. But it was still beautiful in Aerrow's and Radarr's eyes. The skimmer was their most prized possession out of the very few they had, allowing them to travel from terra to terra, to fly and to survive. It was their saviour. Aerrow ran his hand over the seat, silently thanking the machine. If it weren't for it, he'd still be stuck in that hellhole that used to be his home terra.

The boy clambered onto the seat and Radarr hopped on behind him. With some difficulty, Aerrow reached his slightly-too-short arms to grasp the handlebars. The machine rumbled to life. Aerrow grinned and scooted forward in the seat a bit more. He gunned the throttle, heading towards the edge of the tiny terra. But just as the skimmer was about to reach the open skies before them, the engine sputtered once, twice, then quieted.

"Aw, dang." Aerrow said, frowning at the engine, then turned to Radarr. "Think you can fix it buddy?"

Radarr saluted, opened up a compartment in the back and pulled out a wrench. He hopped onto the ground, opened up the skimmer's front, tightened a few screws, tinkered a bit here and there, then slammed it shut. The engine was on again, purring like a contented tiger.

"We'll have to try getting some more parts at the next terra." said Aerrow and Radarr joined him on the seat again.

The sky monkey nodded.

"Alright then, let's fly!"

The skimmer zoomed off the terra and dove downwards. Radarr squawked in terror.

"Radarr!" Aerrow called over his shoulder. "Wings? Remember?"

The co-pilot removed his paws from his eyes and quickly flipped a switch on the side of the skimmer. The machine's two sets of wings popped out and they soared upwards, bursting through a fluffy mass of clouds.

"Woohoooo!" Aerrow whooped.

No matter how many times he flew, it never got any less wonderful. The wind in his hair, the smell of fresh breeze and cloud, the utter joy and freedom of flight: it was what he lived for.

HONK!

Aerrow's previously closed eyes flew open and he nearly tumbled off the skimmer! An airship was flying right at them! The boy turned the handlebars and the ride swerved so sharply that Radarr, crying out in fear and surprise, flew from his shoulder. Aerrow grabbed his tail as the skimmer spun violently. The world was upside-down, then right-side up, then upside-down again, spinning like a kaleidoscope. Just when Aerrow thought he was going to upchuck, the machine settled on its right side.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" yelled the airship's driver, shaking his fist at the redhead.

"Sorry!" Aerrow called, slightly dazed from what had happened.

He could hardly believe it. He'd just done...a loop-the-loop! He'd seen others doing those tricks on their own skimmers, but had never dared trying to do it himself! It was awesome! He laughed, then looked down at Radarr in his arms.

"Did you see that buddy? We did a loop-the-loop!"

The sky monkey's eyeballs were still spinning, but he slowly made a thumb's-up.

"We gotta try that again!"

That snapped Radarr out of it. He blinked and leapt back onto Aerrow's shoulder, shaking his head vigorously.

"Ok, ok," Aerrow laughed again. "Maybe later."

He settled Radarr down with some comforting pats, then grabbed hold of the handlebars again. Gunning the engine, they pair flew off into the open sky. From behind them, a colorful mynall bird hung in the air and watched as the pair disappeared into the clouds. It waited there for several moments, blinking its yellow eyes slowly, then flew off.


	2. Chapter 2

Aerrow and Radarr had been flying for a good few hours now. So far they hadn't seen any terras, just sky, clouds and a few carrier ships. The boy was starting to get hungry again. Breakfast seemed like forever ago. But he told himself that it was better than no breakfast at all. Things could've been way worse. At least that was how Aerrow saw things.

A rumble caught his attention. A very loud rumble. No matter how hungry he felt, there was no way that could've been his stomach. Radarr let out a nervous shriek and leaped onto his shoulder, his little claws digging a bit through Aerrow's shirt. Aerrow turned his head. In the distance, enormous storm clouds darkened the horizon. But they were moving away from their little skimmer. Radarr whimpered in fear and Aerrow patted him.

"Hey, don't worry, Radarr." he said, scratching his long soft ears. "The storm's moving away from us. Nothing's gonna happen."

Still, he glanced nervously around, hoping beyond hope that there was a place they could land somewhere close by.

"Look!" he cried, pointing ahead. "There's a terra right there! We can make it!"

As though on cue, their skimmer made a sound like a malfunctioning engine and coughed out a puff of smoke. Radarr turned to Aerrow, fear constricting his pupils to the size of peas.

"Uh oh," Aerrow said, staring with visible terror at the machine.

He gunned the throttle for an extra speed boost. It cooperated, yet reluctantly. Then things went downhill. Quite literally, because the skimmer jolted in its flight. The passengers eyed it nervously. The vehicle jolted again, spewing out smoke, and a piece of metal fell off the rear. Radarr's eyes dilated in utter terror in the moment before the skimmer dropped from the sky like a stone.

Aerrow fought to steer the skimmer, screaming (give him a break, he was only 7) as they narrowly dodged the trees which were so tall they kissed the clouds. Finally they were falling towards a clearing near the edge of the woods. Aerrow pulled hard and, at a painfully slow rate, the skimmer leveled. As quick as lightning he reached down and flipped the lever to transform it back into bike mode. The skimmer landed roughly with a bump, rolled for while and stopped.

Aerrow and Radarr breathed heavily, the boy still maintaining a vice-like grip on the handlebars and the animal hanging on for dear life on his back. The duo looked like they'd just survived a tornado.

"Well," Aerrow panted, "that could've gone worse."

The words had only just left his mouth when the wings fell from the sides of the skimmer with a loud series of "CLUNK"s. The rear tire bounced out of its place and three more important pieces of metal suddenly detached. Only the skeleton of the machine was left standing. Aerrow groaned. It was going to take hours to put this thing back together.

Suddenly Radarr taped him on the head and pointed. Aerrow looked. His face lit up.

"Good idea Radarr!" he said, spotting the cave Radarr indicated.

The pair dismounted from the broken skimmer and started to heave one of the wings over to the shelter. Despite the short distance, it took several exhausting trips and the better part of 15 minutes, but finally they managed to hide the heavy, wrecked machine in the cave. Aerrow wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Nice work, buddy!" he said, and the friends did a high-five. "Now let's go check out the terra."

They left the cave and the clearing. The woods on this terra were thick with trees, but lots of sunlight still filtered through the leaves, so it wasn't dark. Aerrow was thankful for that. He didn't like the dark, and neither did Radarr.

After a few minutes of walking, they had passed the forest and were looking down on a large village some distance away. It was the first inhabited place without cyclonians that Aerrow had seen in years. Radarr was apprehensive, and hid behind Aerrow's legs. He whimpered nervously. Aerrow scratched his head, smiling reassuringly. Radarr looked again at the village. Finally, he gulped and scurried onto Aerrow's back. The boy smiled again at him.

"Don't be so nervous, buddy," he said hopefully as he started walking. "Maybe the people are friendly."

As they entered the village, Aerrow looked around. There was a lot to see. Buildings lined the streets and people drifted around, talking in loud voices. Many noticed him and Radarr. Some just walked away, others stared and muttered to each other. Everyone gave them a wide berth. Perhaps the inhabitants didn't like strangers. Still, it was better than cyclonians. In all the village seemed pretty open and inviting, despite its people's unfriendly attitude. This idea was reinforced by the delicious smells coming from one shop, so heavenly that Aerrow stopped in his tracks and sniffed appreciatively. He looked up at the sign above the door the smells wafted from, but he hadn't learned to read yet, so it didn't make sense to him. He guessed that it was a bakery, however, since somebody inside placed a large, steaming pie on the windowsill. Aerrow's mouth watered at the sight of the treat and his stomach grumbled. Reluctantly, though he pulled away, knowing he had no money to pay for it. He had barely taken five strides away from the bakery though when he noticed Radarr wasn't by his side. He whirled around, looking for him and gasped as he spotted his friend creeping towards the pie, looking ready to snatch it!

"Radarr! No!"

The animal flinched at the sound of the boy's voice. Frowning, Aerrow marched up to him with his arms crossed.

"Don't eat that Radarr. That's stealing."

Radarr let out an indignant squeak, then pointed at his tummy.

"I know you're hungry," Aerrow said. "I am too. But we don't have any money and we're NOT stealing. Okay?"

Unknown to Aerrow, his voice was drawing the attention from someone nearby. A girl had previously been sweeping the front steps of a shop right next to the bakery when she heard the boy talking to his animal. She turned to watch, her bright eyes focused on the pair. Getting back to our heroes, Radarr's shoulders slumped, then he looked up at Aerrow. His pupils had grown to the size of melons, shining with tears, his pouting lower lip trembled, he clasped his paws in front of him and whimpered plaintively.

"Oh Radarr," Aerrow groaned, "please no. Not the puppy-dog face."

The puppy-dog face was Radarr's secret weapon. Aerrow wasn't yet able to resist, not for long anyway. It always made him feel guilty, like he was treating his friend badly. Plus, it was just too cute. Luckily, he was spared by the door to the bakery slamming open. The sound made both friends jump and Radarr leaped into Aerrow's arms, curling into a ball of startled blue fur. Aerrow looked up at a huge man with his apron and clothes dusted with flour and bread crumbs. He glared at them.

"What are you two ruffians doing?" he asked in a loud, gruff voice.

"Nothing sir," Aerrow said, "we were just looking."

"And are you planning on buying what you were looking at?"

"No sir, we don't have any money."

"Then that's two rules you're breaking, sonny." he said, brandishing a frying pan at them. "1. No loitering! And 2. No pets!"

"Radarr's not a pet!" Aerrow corrected defensively. "He's a friend!"

In his arms, Radarr growled at the storeowner. He hated being called a pet! The man just glared deeper at them. Aerrow frowned defiantly in response and Radarr growled all the louder. Finally, the man seemed to back down.

"Just get your stinking hides off my porch! Go on! Off with you! And don't let me catch you loitering again!" he yelled as he reentered his shop.

"Geez, what a grouch." Aerrow muttered, setting Radarr down and stepping off the porch.

Radarr made an extra small growl in direction of the bakery. Aerrow grinned at him.

"You tell him, Radarr. Come on, this town isn't very friendly after all. Let's go foraging."

They were passing by the girl who'd been watching them, still oblivious to her, when a commotion arose from the bakery behind them. Both turned and saw a wild-looking boy no older than them burst from the shop. He was holding a pie in his dirty hands, the very one Radarr had tried to steal earlier. The boy's eyes darted about nervously, then he bolted down the street, knocking over Aerrow as he passed. Aerrow watched him disappear around a corner.

"THIEF! THIEF!" the baker's voice roared from the bakery.

He came out of his shop, armed with his frying pan, looking half-mad with rage.

"WHERE IS HE? WHERE IS HE?"

Then he spotted Aerrow. He stormed up to the boy and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him up. Aerrow cried out as he dangled from the man's grasp.

"You! You stole my finest pie, you filthy little rat!" he shouted.

"No! I didn't!" the boy said. "I swear I didn't steal your pie!"

"Liar! I'll teach you manners!"

But before he could strike Aerrow with his pan, there was a bright flash of light from behind the man. The baker turned and SHLAP! Something green and gooey stuck to his face. He bellowed in rage and let Aerrow go. Aerrow watched in half-terror half-amusement as he stumbled blindly, trying to get the sticky substance out of his eyes.

"Go!"

Aerrow looked over at the source of the voice. It was a girl, his age he guessed. She was holding a green crystal in one hand and a broom in the other.

"That stuff won't stick forever, now go! Run!" she said.

"W-What about you?" he asked.

The girl opened her mouth to speak when the baker finally ripped away the goop covering his face. If he was mad before, he was furious now. He fixed his eyes on the girl, who froze in terror.

"Why you little-" he shouted, advancing on her.

Aerrow knew that she didn't stand a chance. He rushed to her and grabbed her by the hand.

"Come on!" he said, pulling her away.

She let out a squeak as he started running and dropped her broom. The children began a mad dash away from the baker, who was calling them very unpleasant names loud enough for the whole town to hear. Radarr was right behind them on all fours. Even as the baker slowed, Aerrow didn't stop. He kept running, dragging the girl after him with Radarr following, until they were out of the village, up the hill and had reached the edge of the forest. There, they stopped. Aerrow dropped the girl's hand, panting a little. Radarr slumped on the ground beside him, totally exhausted although Aerrow himself felt only a little out of breath.

"Phew! Looks like we lost him." Aerrow said, feeling a smile grow on his face.

The girl was also panting a bit, her hand still clutched in a tight fist.

"Yeah," she said. "I guess we did."

Aerrow looked over at her. Now that he was out of danger he was able to really notice her appearance. She did look his age, but was slightly shorter than him (but then again people had always said he was tall for his age) and had dark brown skin. Her clothes were stitched and patched, much like his own, but they were in far better shape than his and far less dirty. She was wearing a bright orange headband which held her midnight blue hair, tied in two pigtails, away from her face, aside from her bangs. Her eyes were her most fascinating feature though. They were orange, like her headband, and were bright with emotion. She seemed to feel him looking at her and turned. Aerrow extended his hand.

"My name's Aerrow," he said, smiling broadly. "What's yours?"

She looked down at his hand and seemed hesitant, even scared to shake it. Finally, though, she switched the crystal from her right hand to her left and shook his.

"Piper," she said, with a hint of shyness in her voice. "My name's Piper."

Aerrow heard a small chirp and looked as Radarr climbed onto his shoulder.

"This is Radarr." he said.

"I know." said Piper. "I heard you tell the baker that he's not your pet."

Aerrow immediately decided to like this girl. Radarr didn't seem as sure. He crawled back down and warily approached Piper.

"Don't be scared, Radarr." said Aerrow. "She's not gonna bite."

Piper's eyes flicked to him and Aerrow almost saw a smile on her face before they looked back at Radarr. She knelt down and extended her hand, palm up. Radarr stepped closer and took a few cautious sniffs. Then he licked Piper's palm, and she giggled. Aerrow beamed.

"I think he likes you!" he said, scooping Radarr up and placing him on his shoulder.

Radarr let out a happy chirp in agreement and extended his paw to Piper. She shook it.

"So, um, thanks for saving me from the baker." she said after, putting both arms behind her back and looking even shyer than before.

"I should thank you." Aerrow said in response. "You stopped him with that sticky stuff."

She shifted her feet and looked down at her boots.

"It's nothing. He would've hit you if I hadn't done it."

"It wasn't nothing! You saved my hide! I owe you one!"

"No you don't." she said, looking up. "I saved you, but then you dragged me away before he could hit me! So we're even!"

"Oh, right," Aerrow laughed.

After a moment, he asked:

"How'd you do it?"

Piper looked at him questioningly.

"Do what?"

"When you stopped him with that sticky stuff. How'd you do it?"

"Oh," she said, looking down at her feet again. "It's...It's nothing special,"

"C'mon, please?" Aerrow begged.

Piper hesitated, then drew her arms out her behind her back and opened her left hand. Resting in her palm was a fairly large green crystal.

"Is that a crystal?" Aerrow asked.

Piper nodded.

"It's a slimer crystal." she said. "As for what it does, well..."

She turned to a nearby tree and pointed the crystal at it. After a few moments, the crystal began to glow green. Suddenly it let out a flash of bright green light and a thick wad of slime shot from it and stuck firmly to the tree trunk. Aerrow laughed.

"Wow!" he exclaimed. "That was so cool!"

Piper turned to him, staring.

"You really think it's cool?"

"'Course I do! Why, is there something wrong?"

"No, not at all! It's just," at this Piper looked even shyer than before. "You're the only one I met who's ever thought that. Everyone else just thinks it's strange or weird."

"Oh," Aerrow said, feeling sorry for the girl. "Well, I think it's great."

She smiled at him.

"Thanks,"

She looked over her shoulder at the village again.

"I think I should go now." she said.

"Oh, okay." Aerrow said, feeling disappointed that she had to leave.

As she turned and started walking, Aerrow suddenly thought that this would be the last time he'd see Piper. He didn't want that. So he ran after her and called out:

"Piper! Wait!"

She stopped and looked at him.

"Could I...um...Could I see you again?" he asked.

Piper's eyes widened. She considered.

"Sure."

"Tomorrow?"

She nodded.

"But where? And when?"

"How about right here? At about...noon?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"You don't have a watch." she said as though it were a big problem that he wouldn't be able to tell the time.

"I'll just guess." he said. "But you'll be there?"

He smiled hopefully, and rejoiced when she smiled back.

"Okay," she said, then turned and jogged down the hill and back into the village.

Aerrow watched after her as she went, smiling. He was already looking forward to seeing Piper again. She was shy, yes, but there was something about her. Something smart, fun and alive. Besides, it was nice to have someone to talk to; well, someone who could talk back. He heard a small squeak and looked down at Radarr. The animal was smiling at him in something close to mischief. He pointed in the direction of the village, then to Aerrow and made a silly little dance, chirping and squeaking all the while. Aerrow raised a confused eyebrow. Then Radarr puckered his lips and made loud kissy sounds.

"EW!" Aerrow made a face. "Me? Kiss Piper? Yuck!"

He stalked off into the woods, determined to forage for lunch (and hopefully dinner) to forget what Radarr had suggested. Behind him, Radarr snickered. Yeah; him, his boy, not kiss Piper? Yeah right! Give it some time and he'd definitely change his mind. In fact, he'd bet his own tail on it!


	3. Chapter 3

Foraging on this new terra wasn't so bad. They didn't find any skyberries, but Radarr had climbed down from his search in the trees with his arms full of nuts, so they ate those. They gathered so many that it became their dinner as well, and their meals for the next few days. Repairing the skimmer, however, didn't go so well. Aerrow wasn't much of a mechanic, and the only tool they had was Radarr's lucky wrench (to be honest Aerrow wasn't sure the wrench was lucky, but he didn't say anything). So far, they'd only managed to get the rear tire back in place. They wouldn't be airborne for a good long while, that was for sure.

Aerrow sighed as he sat and stared at the woe-be-gone machine while Radarr ate lunch. They were going to be stuck on this terra for a while. They'd been here for nearly a week and Aerrow was already feeling restless. He was so used to being on the move now that the idea of staying in one place for too long made him want to do something, anything but stay still. The only thing that made him feel better about staying on this terra was seeing Piper every day.

After that first meeting, they met up where Aerrow had suggested, on the hill between the woods and the village, at around noon. As Aerrow didn't have a watch, he got there early as soon as he and Radarr had eaten breakfast (leftover nuts from the day before) and waited until the girl showed up. She was still a bit shy and quiet, so Aerrow had started the talking. He told her that he and Radarr were drifters and how they lived on the move. Then, she surprised him by saying that she was a drifter too, that she had been for years, ever since she was four! Aerrow was both astonished and delighted. From there, they talked animatedly about the terras they'd been to and the things they'd seen. Piper had so many stories to tell; it seemed like she'd been around the entire Atmos! Aerrow was fascinated, both by her stories and by how she told them. She seemed as eager to tell them as he was to listen to them.

After a long time, she seemed to think she was talking too much, so she asked him about his own life. He'd only been a drifter for a short time, so he didn't have a lot to say. But he did tell her about how he did his first loop-the-loop on his skimmer before landing here. Piper's eyes had widened, and she asked him if he'd been scared. Aerrow said he hadn't been, but Piper didn't believe him. When she asked him again, he admitted he had been pretty scared, though not as much as he had been when he and Radarr had crashed here.

The next day, Piper had brought a backpack along, and began pulling some of her things out so she could show him: a map, some books, a compass, a few crystals, more books, a pencil, a comb, extra clothes...Aerrow couldn't believe all that stuff could fit in a single bag! That was when Piper laughed and showed him the inside of the bag. It was lined with a weird, sort of shiny material. She explained that the fabric on the inside of the bag was woven (and when he didn't understand that word, she said made) from crystal dust that made the inside bigger than the outside. Aerrow found that he could put his whole upper body in the bag and there was still a lot of breathing room. And then he found that he was stuck, so Radarr and Piper had to pull him out.

Aerrow remembered how much Piper had laughed at that incident (he'd just learned that word thanks to her), as though she hadn't done it in ages. As time and days had passed, they had done some more stuff together. They ran footraces through the woods and tried fixing the skimmer, and when they got tired of those, they played other games like tag, hide 'n' seek, capture the crystal and, Aerrow's favorite, keep-away. They even spent an entire afternoon lying on a hill looking up at the sky, trying to spot shapes in the clouds.

Aerrow was amazed at the difference between this Piper and the one he'd met days before. She'd been so shy and awkward and almost scared to talk to him. It was as though she'd never had a friend before. Well, technically, Aerrow couldn't ever remember having any friends other than Radarr, but still. He hadn't brought it up though. Piper might've gotten upset about it, and he didn't want that. But he still wanted to know. That and other stuff. He and Piper hadn't talked about each other's pasts yet, or other serious topics. Did that mean they weren't friends? After all, friends shared everything with each other, including their pasts.

Aerrow shook his head. He was really confused. Was having friends that were girls always like this? He hoped it wasn't the same for guys. He stood and started out of the cave, leaving behind his uneaten nuts (he was starting to get sick of them anyway after eating nothing but them for the past couple of days). Maybe a walk would help him think; movement always helped clear his head. He hadn't even gone 10 steps, however, when Radarr screeched at him and leapt onto his back. Aerrow let out a small "oomph". The animal was getting a little heavier every day.

"What is it bud?" he asked.

Radarr held up the nuts Aerrow had left and pointed at them, then chewed exaggeratedly as though he were eating something. Aerrow guessed what his friend was saying and declined the food.

"Thanks Radarr, but I'm not hungry."

Radarr shook his head and pointed again at the nuts. How could the boy say he wasn't hungry? Radarr had heard his stomach rumbling all night! He wasn't going to let his human starve! But Aerrow just picked Radarr up, set him back on the ground and started walking again. Radarr dashed in front of the boy, blocking his way, still holding the nuts in one paw. Aerrow stepped to the left, but Radarr jumped to that side. He stepped to the right, again Radarr was blocking him. Suddenly Aerrow started running and the sky monkey had to jump out of Aerrow's way to avoid getting trampled. Aerrow laughed and made a mad dash to escape his well-meaning friend.

"If you want me to eat those nuts, Radarr, you'll have to catch me!" he yelled over his shoulder.

The sky monkey groaned and started running. But there was no way he could catch up. His legs were much shorter than Aerrow's. He would've been faster on all four feet, but he was still carrying the nuts. Aerrow darted and weaved around the trees, whooping and smiling. He felt much better now. Running wasn't as fun as flying, but at least now he could pretend he was flying. It helped that the wind was roaring through his ears like it did when he rode his skimmer. The boy ducked under a low-hanging branch, leapt over a fallen tree and skidded down a small hill. He was running faster than he could remember, and he was breathless from joyful laughter. He was having so much fun he couldn't even tell where exactly he was going. But he did notice that he was out of the forest by now. There were still some trees but they weren't as thick and close together as before and he felt the afternoon sun on his back and saw his shadow running underneath him.

Aerrow suddenly stopped in his tracks and stared at what was in front of him. He'd just reached a valley filled with hills and green grass. There were a few flowers popping up here and there, and there was a lake nearby. It looked a little plain and ordinary to most people's standards, but to Aerrow it was one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen! He was so absorbed by his surroundings that he didn't hear the scurrying sounds of paws on ground, and only when Radarr landed heavily on his back and made him fall down did he even realise that the animal was right behind him.

"Radarr! Get off!"

He squirmed and wriggled but too late; Radarr had smartly shoved the nuts he'd carried into Aerrow's mouth, stretching out his cheeks to chipmunk proportions. Now you must understand that having food, no matter its taste, will always feel a bit unpleasant in your mouth if shoved in. But it is especially unpleasant if it is shoved in rather forcefully by a sky-monkey-like animal's furry paw. That, unfortunately, is what happened to Aerrow. Nonetheless, he managed to chew and swallow the large mouthful and get back on his feet.

"Alright, that's it!" he warned Radarr, then leapt at him.

Radarr was quick to dodge the attack and blew out his tongue in a raspberry. He eluded Aerrow's attempts to tackle him until the boy fell down on his back, then he jumped onto Aerrow's stomach and started tickling him. Aerrow, being very ticklish, shrieked with laughter. They wrestled in the grass until both of them collapsed, quite out of breath and kind of exhausted. However, out of the corner of his eyes, Aerrow spotted a pair of upside-down boot-clad feet. He blinked, then rolled over and sat up. Piper was standing by a few feet from them. How had she gotten there without them hearing? Then again, they had been pretty distracted.

"Piper! Hi!"

"Hi!" she said, smiling happily. "What are you doing here?"

She said that as though she were trying to stifle a giggle. Aerrow suddenly realised that he and Radarr were still on the ground, and looking rather silly at that. He scrambled to his feet and attempted to dust himself off.

"It was-um-kind of an accident." he said. "Radarr was chasing me and, uh..."

He trailed off. Piper giggled again.

"You two looked funny, wrestling in the grass like that."

Aerrow felt his cheeks grow warm. This was crazy, he couldn't remember feeling embarrassed before! When Piper's giggles finally subsided, he decided to change the subject and asked (because Piper seemed to have been on this terra longer than he had):

"So, what is this place?"

He gestured to the valley around them. Piper looked down, her shyness appearing on her face for the briefest moment, but then looked up and said:

"This is where I live."

Aerrow did a double-take.

"You live here?!"

"Of course," she nodded. "I said I was a drifter like you."

"But I thought you were staying in the village or something." said Aerrow. "I mean, you work there."

"I do, but it's nicer here."

Aerrow supposed that was reasonable. But still, it seemed a little odd to stay out in the open where there was no shelter. Even though he and Radarr were drifters, when they stopped somewhere, they always made sure to find a cave or even a tree to use as a resting point instead of an open valley.

"But why do you live here? Do you sleep out here too? What if it rains?"

She laughed.

"I have a tent, silly!" she explained.

Then she calmed down and looked around her. There was a pensive, yet happy look on her face.

"And I live here because it's the only place on this terra I really like. Well, apart from our meeting place." she added.

Aerrow looked around the valley too. It was a nice place. If a drifter had to stay somewhere, best be a place that they liked.

"Hey, Aerrow?" Piper said. "I was just thinking: I have some leftovers from the market. Do you wanna have some? We could have a picnic!"

As it had heard the offer, Aerrow's stomach rumbled ferociously. He chuckled.

"Sounds good!"

He followed her to her tent, where she got a small pouch filled with bread and strips of cold meat. The campsite looked nice and tidy, just what Aerrow expected Piper to have. They sat and ate with Radarr on the same hillside they'd sat on the day before when they'd looked at the clouds.

But while Radarr was digging into his third cold-meat sandwich and Piper was trying to tell him to slow down, Aerrow's mind was on a different topic. He really wanted to ask Piper about the whole friend thing, but wasn't sure how to approach it. Piper, however, seemed to sense his trouble.

"Aerrow? Are you okay?"

He blinked up at her. She was looking at him worriedly, with deep concern in her eyes.

"You haven't said anything since we got here. What's the matter?"

Aerrow swallowed his mouthful. He was trapped; there was no backing out now, since Piper wouldn't believe him if he said it was nothing.

"Can I…um…Can I ask you something, Piper?"

"Of course," she said, scooting closer to him.

"Okay, well…you said you were a drifter for a long time…" she nodded encouragingly. "Were you…alone that whole time?"

The question seemed to catch Piper a little off-guard. Her eyes widened as she stared at him.

"Well…yeah, I was." she finally said, shrugging matter-of-factly

The boy blanched.

"Really? Didn't you even have any friends?"

Piper shook her head.

"Not really. I thought about making some a few times, like when I'd go to a terra with people on it. But there was always work to do, or things to see. I didn't really have time for friends."

Aerrow could only stare at her. She'd been alone for years, drifting from terra to terra, without even a friend for company. All of a sudden, he felt sad for the girl; who knew what that must've felt like. She felt his stare and turned to him.

"What?"

"That sounds really lonely." he said.

He meant it kindly, of course. However, Piper didn't seem to like that. She frowned at him.

"I'm not lonely!"

Her voice was so sharp that Aerrow flinched. She caught herself and continued, more softly, but still with an edge of indignation in her tone:

"There's nothing wrong with being alone. It's not something you have to pity. You learn to take care of yourself, instead of having to always rely on others."

Aerrow didn't really care for that explanation. It made sense, but rubbed him the wrong way. It sounded an awful lot like surviving without living, and that didn't appeal to him.

"You make it sound like having friends is a bad thing." he said.

He hadn't meant to make it worse, but he did. The girl's eyes flared and she snapped:

"That's the point! It can be bad. It can be bad because people aren't always going to be there! You lose them! And the more you care about them, the more you have to lose!"

She stood, grabbed the pouch with their abandoned picnic and marched off. Even though the two hadn't realised it, clouds were gathering threateningly, almost as though it were reacting to the emotions of the children. Radarr whimpered in fear and tugged at Aerrow's pantleg, trying to get his attention, but his boy ignored him. He went after Piper and grabbed her by the arm, but she yanked it away.

"Piper-"

She looked at him then. She looked upset, but not as angry as before. In fact, there was a deep sadness that glinted in her eyes.

"Just please leave me alone, Aerrow." she said.

Aerrow helplessly watched her leave. It had started raining, and he was getting very wet as he just stood there. Radarr wasn't sure what made him feel more uneasy; the weather or the fight these two had had! Finally, Aerrow turned and started walking through the now pouring rain. He was soaked to the bone and starting to shiver, but he was too preoccupied to notice. Radarr followed, whining sadly. Aerrow saw how miserable he looked and dropped to his knees.

"Oh, sorry Radarr!" the boy apologized, scooping up the animal and carrying him as he started to the cave again. "C'mon, let's get out of this rain."

The pair trudged back through the soppy grass, finally making it to their little cave soaked to the bone and shivering. It wasn't warm inside, but at least it wasn't wet. Aerrow was relieved to see the skimmer still dry and unharmed. He put Radarr down, sat and watched his buddy shake himself like a dog. He rubbed his upper arms in an attempt to warm them up. They'd be lucky if they didn't catch a cold or something from being out so long. Then he heard Radarr do something unexpected: he growled. Aerrow looked over at him. His friend was standing in front of him, paws on hips, and giving him a scolding frown.

"Don't look at me like that, Radarr." he said. "If Piper doesn't want to be friends, then we won't be."

Radarr rolled his eyes, exasperated at his boy. During the past week, Aerrow had been so happy with Piper's company and her with his. Were these children just going to throw that away because of a little spat? Surely not. Radarr didn't know much, but he knew that whatever bond the two had formed by now must be strong enough for that. Besides, Piper wasn't angry at Aerrow. Whatever she was upset about could be resolved, surely.

Radarr didn't realise that Aerrow was actually thinking something along those lines. He didn't believe Piper when she said she wasn't lonely, but he shouldn't have pushed further. He felt really bad for having upset her like that. He wanted to be Piper's friend, and he wanted to help her. Maybe something had happened to her, something so bad that she decided not to have friends anymore. Aerrow could sympathise with that. He certainly knew a thing or two about hard pasts. Finally, he stood.

"I'm gonna go find Piper." he said to Radarr. "You stay here."

Radarr's ears lifted and he rejoiced, bouncing to his feet and even doing a little dance. Aerrow smiled, then turned to the opening of the cave. The rain was still pouring hard, possibly heavier than before. He took a quick breath and bolted out of the cave. Aerrow jogged at a steady pace, his boots squelching through the wet grass and mud. It was raining so hard it seemed ready to flood the entire terra!

Aerrow's train of thought suddenly screeched to a halt. If this kind of rain could flood a terra, it could also flood Piper's camp! Perhaps it already had! He sped up, running in a full-out sprint. The train of thought did likewise. What if the rain broke through Piper's tent? What if the valley flooded? Could Piper swim? Was she drowning? Could Aerrow get there in time to save her? He ran even faster, almost tripped on the fallen tree from earlier and crashed into something so hard (the crash, not the thing he crashed into), he fell backwards in a splash of mud and soaked grass. He sat up, his head throbbing from the impact, and his eyes nearly popped from their sockets.

"Piper!" he cried.

"Aerrow!" she said at the same time. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was coming to look for you! What are you doing here?"

He grabbed Piper's offered hand and she helped him to his feet. Only then did he take in Piper's appearance. She looked frazzled, mud-splattered, soaking wet (well, to be fair, he was too, but she looked, if possible, even more so), and was carrying her backpack.

"I was looking for you too. See, my camp's…kind of flooded." Piper said.

"Oh," Aerrow gasped.

Piper nodded.

"The rain just pounded on the tent and the roof broke. There was water everywhere and all my things got wet and…yeah,"

"Oh," Aerrow said again, lamely.

What else could he say? Both children stared at the ground, seemingly unaware of the rain, but hyper-aware of each other, suddenly realising what an odd situation it was; just minutes before they had been in a fight, and suddenly they were looking for the person they'd just fought with? Life has its strange quirks. Aerrow was trying to think of something, anything he could say to make things better. Then he had an idea. It wasn't much, but at least it could guarantee Piper wouldn't have to sleep out in the cold.

"Maybe, umm, you could, uh, stay with us in our cave tonight?" he asked, awkwardly, remembering that she was most likely still mad at him and thinking she was probably going to say no.

Instead, Piper looked up at him and nodded. She then followed him back to the cave. Although both children weren't really in the mood for running, they did run, if only to get out of the rain sooner.

Radarr was waiting for them inside, and chirruped happily, only to notice the awkward expressions on their faces and their aversion to look at each other. He sat back on his haunches, watching quietly. Aerrow sat and watched too as Piper started emptying her bag and laying out the stuff that needed to dry. When she got to the books, Aerrow glanced at the pages as she opened one: nothing but indistinguishable scribbles. That made him feel ashamed. Though the rain wasn't his fault, but he knew that Piper really liked those books and they meant a great deal to her.

She finally sat down, not too far from him, but not too close either. No one said anything. It was certainly very awkward. Aerrow wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to say he was sorry, to apologize for upsetting Piper. But at the same time he was a little worried. What if she still wanted to be left alone right now? He didn't want another fight. But he wouldn't get anywhere if he didn't say anything. Besides, he couldn't take this silence anymore. He opened his mouth to say it and-

"I'm sorry."

Aerrow blinked, mouth still agape, and looked at Piper. Had she-Did she just-?

"Huh?" he said, a little stupidly.

"I'm sorry for being so mean to you." Piper said, then, finally turning to look at him: "I mean, you were nothing but nice and friendly to me, and I just acted like a real jerk to you this afternoon. So I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry."

Aerrow scooted closer to the girl.

"Hey, it's okay. If you're not ready to be friends-"

"It's not that." Piper said, cutting him off, but gently. "It's because what you said is true. I was lonely, being a drifter without any friends."

She looked down.

"I don't want you to pity me because of that."

"I don't pity you, Piper." said Aerrow, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I don't pity you at all. I just want to know why. Why you were so scared to have friends."

He thought for a moment she'd get annoyed at his choice of words, but she didn't. Instead she sighed.

"You know what I said earlier about losing people you care about?"

Aerrow nodded.

"Well, it's because…" she struggled to say the words. "Because…"

"Because that's what happened to you?"

Piper nodded sadly.

"My terra…was attacked by cyclonians."

Aerrow gasped. The Cyclonian Empire had been at war with Atmos for ages, as long as anybody could remember. Its leader was always trying to conquer the world of a thousand terras by any means necessary. Lately, they had gotten stronger, and had attacked many terras these past few years.

"Piper…I'm so sorry…"

The girl sniffled, then wiped her eyes and looked up at him. Her eyes were bright with an intense gaze.

"It's just…I really care about you, Aerrow. But everyone I've cared about, I've lost in some way. I don't want to lose you too."

She timidly averted her eyes again. Aerrow blinked a few times, then smiled gently. He wrapped his arms around Piper and suddenly pulled her into a hug.

"You're not gonna lose me, Piper. I promise."

"But…How can make a promise like that?" the girl asked.

He pulled away so he could look into her eyes.

"Because I never, ever break my promises, Piper. Ever."

The girl smiled. It was a simple and almost childish promise, but it was reassuring nonetheless. Radarr chirped happily, then leaped into Piper's lap and licked her cheek. The girl was knocked backwards and giggled happily under the ticklish assault. Aerrow smiled at the sight, then he realised something: the sound of rainfall was gone. He looked outside.

"Hey, the rain's stopped!" he said.

Piper glanced in the same direction.

"I guess it has."

Aerrow stood and bounded out of the cave, Radarr right behind him.

"C'mon! We can go get your stuff from your camp!"

He started, but stopped at only two steps when Piper called out after him:

"Aerrow, wait a second!"

He turned to her.

"What is it?"

She looked a little nervous.

"Do you wanna be friends?" she asked.

Aerrow beamed at her.

"'Course I do! We'll be the best of friends!"

Piper's smile split her face.

"Yes we will!" she said, then ran past him.

Aerrow chased after her, both kids laughing with Radarr on their heels.


	4. Chapter 4

"How long do you it will take to fix your skimmer?" Piper asked as they returned to the cave.

They'd already made a few trips between there and Piper's camp, and had brought back almost all of her possessions, nearly all of them soaked by the rain. Now, they were carrying the tent itself back, each of them holding one end. Aerrow shrugged at the girl's question.

"Not sure. Probably a few more days. After all, the only tool we have is Radarr's wrench, so it might be slow going. Still, it shouldn't take too long."

He remained optimistic about this. Most of the pieces were already back on. It was just a matter of being able to lift the larger ones into their proper places. Then, they'd be ready to fly again. It already seemed too long since he'd been up in the air in Aerrow's eyes.

"So, where'll you guys go once it's fixed?"

Aerrow shrugged. They set down the tent at the cave's entrance and sat inside.

"Wherever the wind takes us," he said. "It's how we've always traveled."

Piper frowned quizzically.

"So you two just wander around? With no plan, no destination?"

"Nope, we just improvise."

Piper stared at him with wide eyes. Aerrow started feeling a little self-conscious.

"What?"

Piper realized she'd been staring and looked away hurriedly.

"Nothing, sorry."

"No, really, what is it?"

"It's nothing, just," she ducked her head, and looked as shy as when Aerrow had first met her, "I'm kind of wondering if...maybe I could go with you, when you leave I mean."

Now, it was Aerrow's turn to stare at her with wide eyes. But his face quickly broke into a grin.

"Of course you can!" he cried, delightedly, partly wondering why it hadn't occurred to him before.

She looked up at him with big, sunny eyes.

"Really?!" she asked, delighted.

He nodded vigorously.

"Sure, I do! We're friends now, right? We can't just leave each other behind!"

He smiled, and when she smiled back, it was big and bright as a star.

"Thank you." she said, beaming.

She gave Aerrow a tight hug. He blushed at the sudden contact, but returned it all the same. It was nice.

"You're welcome."

She pulled away, still smiling as though Christmas had come early. Then, something inside the cave caught her eye.

"Hey! Look!"

Piper reached behind her and grabbed one of her books. She flipped through the pages, her eyes bright.

"This one's dry now! And it's not too messy!" She gave Aerrow a big, beaming smile. "We could read a bit before we go to sleep."

Aerrow blushed and looked away, suddenly feeling quite embarrassed.

"I...can't." he mumbled.

"Huh?" Piper tilted her head quizzically.

Aerrow took a breath.

"I don't know how to read." Aerrow rushed to get it out.

"Really?!"

She sounded shocked. Aerrow nodded. Piper was quiet for a moment. Aerrow opened one eye to look warily at her. But instead of looking peeved, his friend smiled. She scooted closer to him, opening the book and placing it on both her and his laps.

"Then I'll teach you." she said. "Don't worry; it's not so hard once you learn the basics."

Aerrow couldn't help but stare at Piper. Then, his mouth stretched into a broad smile.

"Thanks!" he said, almost laughing with joy.

Piper grinned back, then pointed at the lettering in the book and started to list the different letters and their pronunciation. Radarr, curious, scurried over and onto Aerrow's shoulder, leaning out between the children to look at the strange markings on the page. Piper giggled.

"You can join the lesson too, Radarr."

He let out a happy chirp and the two boys listened eagerly as Piper read the words in her book aloud, tracing them with her finger. Aerrow repeated after her and, slowly yet surely, began learning how to read. He was a quick learner, and Piper a fair teacher. However, the two couldn't stay awake forever. Aerrow and Piper fell asleep, leaning against each other, with Radarr lying between them.

* * *

A few days later, Aerrow's skimmer was almost finished. Aerrow was underneath it, tightening the screw to keep the engine from falling off. It was a hot day, and though being under the skimmer left him in the shade, he was sweating from the tough work, and there were flecks of grease dirtying his face.

Piper and Radarr waited nervously. With a final creaking of bolts, Aerrow wriggled out and gave the pair a thumbs-up. Piper nodded, and turned the key. The engine rumbled to life. The trio's eyes lit up with hope. It'd worked! It'd finally worked!

Then the skyride sputtered and quieted.

"Aww," both kids moaned in disappointment.

Radarr frowned at the skyride, and hopped off from his seat. The two watched curiously as the animal marched huffily to the back of the ride and kick it! He regretted that decision fast. His paw throbbed in sudden pain, and Radarr yelped! He hopped on his good foot, clutching his injured paw and whimpering.

Then, by the strange miracle that kicks can fix seemingly any broken machine, the skimmer jolted, coughed out a puff of smoke right in Radarr's face, and started running! Aerrow and Piper cheered!

"Yeah!" the boy whooped.

"Woohoo!"

"It works!"

"You did it! You did it! You did it!"

Piper was so excited; she was bouncing on the spot, squealing happily. Radarr clutched at his throat, coughing and hacking, smoke belching from his mouth in small puffs. Aerrow patted him hard on the back, which seemed to help, before both he and Piper rushed into the cave to get the girl's things.

There wasn't a lot to bring out. A lot of the stuff Piper had brought was in her bigger-on-the-inside-than-on-the-outside backpack (or the botitoto bag, as the children had christened it), and the rest had been wrapped up in her tent and held together with ropes. They tied that parcel to the back of the skimmer with more ropes, made sure it was secure and climbed on. Aerrow sat in front, Piper in back.

Of course, Piper would've ridden her own skyride, a small helibike, the very one she'd used to run away from her terra on, but they'd had to use some of its parts to rebuild Aerrow's skyride, and Piper had sold the rest of it in town so they could have some extra money for food or clothes (Aerrow's were pretty ratty and dirty, not to mention they were starting to look too small for him).

Piper clung uneasily to Aerrow as they took off, giving a little gasp of fear as they drove off the terra! But Radarr deployed the wings, and they were off!

* * *

Terra Sparrow wasn't very noticeable, or very important. Finn couldn't see why his mother had loved it so much, not that she'd had the chance to explain it. She'd died when he was just a baby, so he never understood why his mom stated, in her will, that he should be raised here.

Finn used to ask his grandmother why his mom hadn't chosen her as his guardian. After being driven batty by this question for over a week, she finally answered that she had practically ordered his mom not to make her his guardian. She wanted to live out the rest of her days in peace and quiet, and she'd already spent more than enough time around children for her liking, thank you very much.

So Finn had to live with Tempo, an old friend of his mother's. And when I say old, I don't just mean he'd known his mom for a long time. He was as old as grandma, at least. However, though he was kind and caring, Finn thought he was as boring as the rest of Sparrow. Even more boring, actually. At least when he pranked one of the citizens, they got mad enough to chase him away, but Tempo never got mad, ever! Finn knew; he had once spent a whole day trying to find ways to make him mad. Not a single method had worked.

The boy sighed as he stared out his window. It had been a perfectly boring day on his boring terra of a home, as usual. The sky seemed to agree. Though it had been sunny earlier, clouds had gathered and turned the bright blue to grey, reflecting Finn's mood.

Actually, it was looking pretty dark now that Finn thought of it. As though in response, a rumble of distant thunder vibrated gently.

"Hey Tempo!"

"Hmm? What is it Finn?"

The old man stepped into the room. His white beard looked spectacularly immaculate in comparison to his plain and patched brown clothing.

"There's a storm coming."

The man looked out the window at the sky.

"Better put the chickens back into their pen." he said.

"Huh? Now? But it's so far away!" Finn whined.

Putting away the chickens when a storm was coming was just one of Finn's many chores. The birds were completely terrified of rain, thunder and lightning, not to mention they were stubborn birds. If they didn't want to go somewhere, they wouldn't go. Finn remembered the angry pecks he'd gotten last week when he had to give them a bath. Tempo looked down at Finn.

"It may be far now, but storms travel fast. And we don't want another chicken frenzy, do we?"

"No," Finn said feebly.

A frenzy of scared, wet chickens with flying feathers and scratches from runaway beaks and claws was indeed the last thing Finn wanted. Reluctantly, he went outside and entered the fenced yard where the birds roamed. This time, the process of herding and carrying chickens back to their pens was pretty easy. Finn only got bit on the nose once before he managed to lock the aggressive bird in its keep.

A flash of white light made him jump. He whirled around and saw that the storm was not only much closer than it had been only minutes before, but it looked bigger too. Guess Tempo was right. Storms did travel fast. He rushed inside. Guess this day wouldn't be so entirely boring after all.

* * *

Of course, Finn underestimated just how not-boring this day was going to get. For that very storm he'd spotted earlier happened to be the one Aerrow, Radarr and Piper had unintentionally flown into a few hours after leaving the terra where they'd met.

The wind blew the fragile craft about wildly, and Aerrow wrestled to keep it halfway steady!

"Look out!" Piper cried out.

Aerrow swerved and a bolt of lightning narrowly missed them! Radarr let out an ear-rattling shriek, his fur puffing out and standing completely on end. But it was immediately flattened by the rain. It was raining so hard that the kids could barely see beyond a foot in front of them!

"Aerrow! We have to land!" Piper yelled at the top of her voice so he could hear.

"I can't see any terras!" Aerrow yelled back.

He squinted but it was so use. He couldn't make anything out in the pouring water; and the darkness of the clouds and howling of the wind weren't helping. Besides, even if Aerrow could've seen a place to land, the battering gales were playing havoc with the skyride.

Aerrow desperately looked around for some gap in the storm but saw nothing except more and more storm! They were lost in it, surrounded by it on all sides!

And suddenly, he spotted something! He blinked, wondering if he'd just imagined it. No! There was something small and colourful poking through the clouds. It looked like a bird! Yes, a bird with a cornucopia of coloured feathers. Strangest of all, the bird was somehow managing to stay in one spot, and it was actually looking at Aerrow. It looked like it was saying: "What are you waiting for? Come on!" So, Aerrow did come on.

He revved the skimmer's engine and fought to steer it toward the bird.

"Aerrow!" Piper screamed. "What are you doing!?"

"I'm not totally sure!" was Aerrow's response.

All he knew was that if there was some chance that weird-looking bird could lead them out of this storm, he was going to follow it! And the bird seemed to be doing just that! As the skimmer got closer, it soared down between the clouds with the skimmer following the bright streaks of its fiery-coloured wings.

Aerrow followed as best he could, barrel-rolling as the storm tossed the skyride about like a ragdoll. Radarr whimpered, his face looking greener which each roll. Even Piper felt nauseous and had to close her eyes and swallow hard to keep from upchucking.

The bird swooped down under a large cloud and as Aerrow did so (though not as gracefully and effortlessly as the bird had); he spotted a mass of darkness below them. A terra!

"The bird led us out!" he called, but he was caught off when another lightning bolt shook the tiny skyride to its core.

Radarr screeched, absolutely terrified and leaped up to wrap himself around Aerrow's face!

"Ah! Radarr!" Piper yelled.

Aerrow let go of the skyride!

"Radarr! Get off!"

Aerrow tried peeling the animal off of him with one hand and steer with another! Piper reached around to grab the other handlebar, but the ride was swept up like a dust bunny in a broom by a huge gale! Radarr shrieked and relinquished his grip, but was sent spinning off out of Aerrow's reach!

"RADARR! NO!"

Aerrow nearly threw himself off the skimmer to grab his friend, but Piper stopped him.

"Aerrow-"

"No! We have to get Radarr!"

"AERROW!" Piper shouted. "THE TREES!"

Aerrow looked and screamed as the skimmer crashed against a skyscraper of a tree! The kids held on for dear life as their ride knocked into another towering plant! This collision spun the skyride around and Aerrow suddenly found himself in mid-air, whirling and spinning and having no idea whether he was upside-down or-

BAM! He landed on the ground, sending up a small fountain of wet dirt and earning a foul taste of soil in his mouth. He heard Piper land somewhere near him, crying out in pain. Before his vision could fade, he rolled onto his stomach, trying to see if she was okay.

"Piper?"

"Oww," the girl moaned.

Aerrow tried to speak, but as he shifted onto his side, he yelped. His arm felt like every bone in it had shattered into a million pieces! He lay still, closing his eyes and feeling the rain still falling, cold on his skin. Unconsciousness seemed a better option than pain and cold.

* * *

TAP TAP TAP TAP!

Finn dropped his brand-new Carver action figure when he heard the sound. He got to his feet and looked out his window. Had some crazy bird started tapping on the glass for some reason? He did think he spotted a winged shape with colourful feathers flapping away, but that was forgotten in an instant when he saw what was outside his window, not too far from the Tall Forest (which he called because its trees were absurdly, ridiculously tall) (not very original, but this is Finn we're talking about).

It looked like a wrecked skyride (a skimmer, by the looks of the wings) and, lying in the grass and dirt near it, two kids! And they weren't moving!

He ran from his bedroom and burst into Tempo's!

"Tempo! There're two kids outside the house! And they've crashed!"

Tempo got up from his rocking chair and ran to the window, a little surprising for someone his age. He took one look at the kids and rushed to the front door!

"Get the first-aid kit, Finn!" he said as he started out into the rain. "And grab those extra blankets from the guest bedroom! We're going to need them!"

For once, Finn didn't question, complain or hesitate. He found the kit and grabbed four extra blankets, tripping on a fifth as he tried running back to the living room. Once he got there, Tempo was carrying a boy his age inside.

The boy was pale, and had ruby red hair that was wind-blown and spiked up despite being drenched in water. His clothes were ratty and torn in places, and he looked beaten up, probably from the crash. His face was streaked with dirt, and his right arm was awkwardly twisted. Finn reached out and poked it, and the boy groaned painfully. It must hurt pretty badly if he felt it in his sleep.

"Stay here and don't touch that arm again." said Tempo, placing the boy gently on the couch.

Finn watched him leave, and then looked again at the boy. Who was he? Where had he come from? And why the heck had he been flying in a storm?

Tempo came back then, cradling the second kid Finn had spotted. This one was a girl! She had brown skin, dark blue hair tied in water-heavy pigtails. She also looked beat-up and dirt-streaked, and the crash had ripped holes in the fabric of her pants. She looked, he guessed, sort of pretty, apart from looking like she'd just gotten out of a wreck. Which she had, he reminded himself.

"You go to bed now." said Tempo, laying the girl next to the boy on the couch.

Finn looked indignantly up at him.

"Tempo, it's not even eight!"

"Go to bed, Finn."

"I'm not tired!"

"Finn, now-"

"But why?"

Tempo turned to Finn. He looked so calm, as usual, but there was a strange look in his eyes Finn hadn't seen before. It kind of freaked him out.

"Finn, go to bed."

His voice wasn't stern or angry, but it left no room for questions and was completely unyielding. Finn went to bed. He didn't know why, but he did.

When he was sure Finn had closed the door and wasn't eavesdropping, Tempo looked down at the two children. His eyes softened as they landed on the redheaded boy.

"You've had a rough time, Aerrow," he said softly, opening the first aid kit and tending to his arm, which was broken, "a really rough time. But don't worry, we've found you, and we're going to take good care of you now; you and your friend. Don't you worry, son of Lightning Strike."


	5. Chapter 5

Radarr's landing hadn't been too painful, nor unpleasant. In fact, he would've dared call it fun, if it hadn't been caused by being practically thrown off of Aerrow's skimmer. Luckily for the little blue creature, he'd burst through a layer of leafy branches, which helped slow his fall. Two more leafy layers later, he slid down the branches of a huge pine-decked tree, before finally tumbling onto the grass. True, he got some pine needles and a hint of tree sap stuck in his fur, but in all, no major damage had been suffered.

Radarr picked off the last of the pine needles, shrieking as he accidentally ripped a hair or two out of his fur. He dusted himself off. He really needed to work on his landings. Maybe he should learn that trick cats did to always land on their feet, if he could. He looked around at his surroundings and squeaked in fear. The heavy storm clouds were blocking out the moon, leaving everything in darkness, with only a few vague, even darker shadows to show that he was in a forest. Radarr reached behind him for his tail. It took him a while to locate it, but when his paws finally got hold of it, he held it close. He was trembling. The dark was so very frightening to a young animal. Oh, where was Aerrow? Where was his boy?

* * *

Aerrow wasn't truly awake yet. He was in a deep, dark space. Or maybe it was just his closed eyes. He tried opening them, but they were so, so heavy. He couldn't quite remember the dream he'd been having before, just that it was bad...and it had fire, a red sky, and screaming? Whatever it had been, it was far away now, much to his relief.

"Hey,"

A voice. Someone was talking to him, though it sounded faint and a little fuzzy.

"Hey! Wake up!"

The voice came through stronger now. Whoever it was, they were whispering, quietly, yet insistently. Grunting with the effort, Aerrow opened his eyes. He blinked slowly as his surroundings came into focus. He was in a room, a fairly dark one so the lights must've been turned off, lying on his back on something...soft. The sensation was so foreign, but so comfortable, like a cloud of warmth. He felt like he was going to sink right through...

"Phew! For a second there, I thought you were dead!"

There was that voice again. Aerrow turned his head and came face-to-face with a blond, blue-eyed boy about his own age. The boy was staring at him in a way Aerrow didn't know how to explain. Was it relief because he wasn't dead like the boy had thought it was? It looked a bit like fascination, as though Aerrow were the weirdest or the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. Maybe it was a bit of both.

"Well, I'm not." Aerrow said, since he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Ssh!" the boy said, a finger over his mouth. "Pipe down; we're supposed to be asleep."

"Sorry." Aerrow whispered. "Who are you?"

The boy stuck out his hand.

"Name's Finn." he said.

Aerrow tried to lift his own hand, but yelped in sudden pain. His right arm was covered in bandages and held in a sling.

"Oh, right." said Finn. "Tempo said your arm's broken."

"Who's Tempo?" the injured boy asked.

"He's the guy who bandaged you up. He looks after me."

"Is he your dad?"

The blond almost laughed out loud.

"No way! He's way too old to be my dad! He's like…my…guardian or something."

"Oh, okay."

Aerrow held out his left hand (he was more left-handed anyway) and Finn did the same, though a little awkwardly. They shook.

"I'm Aerrow."

"That's a cool name." Finn commented.

"Thanks!"

Aerrow shifted amid the sea of blankets so he could sit up. He glanced around the room. It was a small, cozy-looking bedroom, with a second bed just beyond the blond boy. The windows' curtains were drawn, but a hint of moonlight still shone through. He and the other boy were the only people in the room; he couldn't see Radarr or Piper anywhere.

"Where's Piper? And Radarr?" he asked.

The blond looked confused.

"Who?"

"My friends." Aerrow explained. "They were with me when we crashed."

At least, he knew Piper had been. The fact that Radarr had flown off somewhere was really starting to worry him.

"Hmm, is Piper a girl? Like, dark skin and blue hair?" Finn asked. "Cause a girl like that did crash with you. I didn't see anyone else though."

"Where is she?" carefully maneuvering his injured arm, Aerrow got out of the bed.

"In my bedroom," said Finn, pointing at the door. "I was supposed to sleep in there, but Tempo said a girl should have her own room."

Suddenly, there was a knocking at the door. Both boys jumped at the sudden noise.

"Aerrow?" a hushed voice asked from the other side, muffled by the door. "Are you in there?"

It was Piper. Aerrow stepped past Finn and opened the door. Piper looked a little worse for wear, with a myriad of bandages and bruises on her face and limbs. Her headband and hair ties were gone too, so her hair hung about her shoulders.

"What happened to your arm?" she asked, looking with great concern at his sling.

"It's broken." Aerrow explained, letting her into the room. "What about you? Are you okay?"

She nodded.

"I woke up a few minutes ago. Everything's kinda sore, but I'm fine."

"Have you seen Radarr?"

She shook her head sadly.

"No, sorry."

Aerrow hung his head sadly.

"We gotta go find him." he said.

But before Piper could respond, Finn stepped between her and Aerrow, smiling at her in a very weird way.

"Hey there." he said, waggling his eyebrows.

Piper stared at him, very confused.

"Um…hello?"

She gave Aerrow a questioning look. Aerrow shrugged. He had no idea what Finn was doing, but he wasn't sure he liked it. It was weird whatever it was.

"You must be Piper." Finn continued. "My name's Finn, but you can call me the Finnster."

He waggled his eyebrows again. It was meant to flirtatious, but it didn't have the effect he'd been looking for. Instead of blushing or swooning over him, Piper's mouth curled upward at the edges. She sucked in her lip to try and keep it still, but the laughter wouldn't be easily stifled, so it came out as a muffled snicker.

"Why would I call you that?" she asked, pulling her hand away.

Finn's eyes widened. He blinked, once, twice.

"Because it's cool." he said, wiggling his eyebrows again.

All it did was make Piper laugh again, much to his dismay. Aerrow could only stare in confusion. Though he also felt tempted to laugh at Finn's waggling eyebrows.

"Why are you laughing?" Finn asked. "You're supposed to be charmed by my flirting, not laughing!"

Piper made a face.

"That was flirting?" she asked.

"Yeah," said the boy, puffing out his chest like a peacock. "Weren't you impressed?"

The girl shook her head.

"It was ridiculous!"

Finn's nostrils flared, his pride wounded.

"No it wasn't!" he turned his gaze away, holding his chin high. "You just don't know proper flirting when you see it!"

Piper rolled her eyes. As amusing as the exchange was, Aerrow decided he should probably put an end to it.

"Okay, now that you guys have met," he turned to look at Piper, "we gotta go find Radarr."

Both Piper and Finn turned to him as he spoke, their argument forgotten.

"But we don't even know where Radarr is." Piper said.

"That doesn't matter. He's on this terra, and we're going to find him."

Then he turned to Finn, suddenly remembering that he hadn't even asked him where they were. Best know what kind of crazy terra this was before going out to find Radarr.

"What terra is this anyway?" he asked.

Finn sighed heavily and rolled his eyes.

"Terra Sparrow," he said derisively, "only the most boring terra in all of Atmos."

So, not such a crazy terra after all.

"So there's nothing out there that could hurt Radarr?"

"Please. The most dangerous thing on this terra is the chickens when a storm comes. They're super scared of 'em."

Piper raised a skeptical eyebrow at the blond.

"Chickens?"

Finn turned to her.

"You laugh now, but just wait 'til you're stuck having to put them inside when there's a storm above your heads!" he warned.

Aerrow stepped past the boy, ignoring the ominous words.

"Come on, let's go find him." he opened the door so he and Piper could sneak through.

"Hey, wait for me!"

The two children turned around as Finn followed them out the room.

"I'm coming too!" he whispered, closing the bedroom door behind him.

Aerrow and Piper glanced at each other.

"Why?" Aerrow asked.

Finn gave him an "Are you crazy?" look.

"Hey; two kids crashing on my home terra and sneaking out to find their friend? This is the most exciting thing that's ever happened in my life! I'm not missing out on the action!"

Aerrow smiled. Finn was a bit strange and squirrelly, but his enthusiasm was contagious. Plus, they could probably use the help. Piper looked a bit unsure, but she still followed the two boys as they carefully tiptoed through the small house and out the door to find Radarr.

* * *

The Tall Forest was even bigger than Aerrow had imagined, both in height, and in just how vast it seemed. It was like being surrounded by sentinels armed in needles that glinted in the dark. The moon had finally showed its face, but it was masked by lingering wisps of cloud. Still, at least it was there, giving them light to see by and aid them in their search.

"So, what does Radarr look like anyway?" Finn eventually asked.

Aerrow parted a thick bush with his good hand to look between the leaves. No Radarr.

"He looks kind of like a sky monkey." he said. "He's got blue fur and big yellow eyes."

"And long ears and a long tail." Piper added.

Finn paused.

"Wait, you mean he's an animal?"

"Yeah," said Aerrow.

Finn looked confused for a second, then:

"Ohh, okay! So he's like your pet."

Aerrow frowned at the other boy.

"No, he's not a pet."

"Sure." said Finn.

He didn't sound like believed Aerrow at all.

"I mean it!" Aerrow insisted. "He's my best friend. He just happens to be an animal."

"Right. Okay." Finn cupped his hands around his mouth and went back calling out: "Yoohoo! Radarr! Your master's looking for you!"

Aerrow wanted to reiterate how Radarr WASN'T his pet, but Piper put a hand on his shoulder.

"He's not even listening." she said. "Besides, Radarr will teach him not to call him a pet. When we find him."

She gave him an encouraging smile. Aerrow couldn't help but smile back.

"Yeah, I know, but still. Radarr hates being called a pet. You should see how mad he gets when someone does."

In the leaf-filtered moonlight, he could see Piper smile at him.

"How mad does he get?" she asked challengingly.

Aerrow accepted the challenge.

"Really mad!" he said. "He'll bite anybody who calls him a pet if I'm not there to stop him."

At that moment, there was a scream.

"AAAGH! GET HIM OFF! GET HIM OFF!"

The two children whirled around, so startled that their hair stood on end! They recognized the voice.

"Finn!" they cried.

Before they could look for him, Finn suddenly ran right past them! He had both hands on his butt, and there was something clamped onto it! Whatever it was, it held on with a vice-like set of teeth, growling loudly. Finn still ran around like a panicking chicken, shrieking:

"Gethimoff gethimoff gethimoff gethimOFF!"

Aerrow could only stare in wide-eyed amazement. Then, as Finn dashed through a patch of moonlight, he saw the creature latched onto his posterior more clearly, especially its blue fur and huge, angry, yellow eyes.

"Radarr!" he cried, but with joy instead of panic.

The animal's eyes widened in surprise. Someone had called out his name! Was it Aerrow? Was Aerrow here? Distracted, he let go of the blonde who'd called him a pet and tumbled down in the grass. He sat up, head spinning and stars winking in his vision. He shook his head to clear it. Never mind the guy who'd called him a pet! His boy was here!

"Radarr! Over here!"

Radarr looked and shrieked in delight! There was Aerrow! He looked a little tired and had something wrapped around his right arm, but it was still him! Radarr ran to him and bounded into his boy's outstretched arms. He licked his face, chirruping happily and nuzzling his cheek.

"Oh, I'm happy to see you too!" Aerrow said. "I'm so sorry I dropped you, buddy, I promise I won't do that ever again!"

The apology was unnecessary, for Radarr was so happy he'd either already forgiven Aerrow or forgotten the incident altogether.

"Is he okay?" Piper asked, running over to join the two.

In answer, Radarr chirped happily and waved to her.

"Yup! He's fine!" Aerrow chuckled, still cradling the animal in his one good arm.

Radarr leaned out to lick Piper's cheek. She laughed and scratched the fur on his head, earning a contented churr from him. Finn, however, wasn't quite so thrilled.

"That's the Radarr you were so worried about?" he asked, hands protectively covering his buttocks

Aerrow smiled at him.

"Yup!" he beamed. "And thanks! We couldn't've found him without your help!"

Finn blinked, surprised. Even though Tempo asked him to do chores and occasionally thanked him, it had been a long while. Finn actually couldn't remember fully well the last time he'd been thanked for doing something. And besides, what was Aerrow thanking him for? Finding Radarr? He hadn't found the animal; the animal had found him. But the thanks felt too good not to accept.

"It was nothing." said Finn, bashfully shuffling his feet. "Besides, my butt did most of the work."

Aerrow and Piper both laughed. Finn blushed. However, they weren't laughing at him, he knew. The memory of him being bitten on the butt, when the event became a memory and not immediate, was rather funny. But it was more than a little embarrassing, especially when a girl was laughing at him (albeit one who didn't appreciate his charms).

"No, really!" Aerrow insisted. "If you hadn't called Radarr a pet, he wouldn't have attacked you and come out of hiding!

Finn smiled. He actually felt like he'd been helpful. It was a nice feeling. Radarr looked at his best friend in confusion. This boy, Finn, who'd dared call him a pet, had helped them find him? So...he should be thanking him? He made a face. Why would he want to thank someone who'd insulted him? Piper, unaware of these thoughts and feelings, looked over her shoulder in the direction they'd come from, looking concerned.

"Should we be heading back now?" she asked. "I mean, won't your guardian be worried once he finds we're gone?"

Finn shook his head.

"Nah, he's an old geezer," he said, waving away the worry, "he's probably still asleep."

"And just what do you three think you're doing out here?" an old man's voice spoke up, startling the three children and one animal.

They all turned round to see an old man step out from the shadows. The scattered bits and pieces of moonlight fell upon his white beard and kindly eyes. He stood there and just smiled at them, which didn't completely help their nerves. Was this just the calm before the storm? Was he going to be angry at them? Tempo turned his smile to Aerrow, Piper and Radarr. When he spoke, there wasn't a single trace of anger in his tone:

"You two should be resting and letting your injuries heal. Especially you, with that broken arm." he nodded to Aerrow.

The boy blinked. Tempo just turned and started walking. The children were still too frozen in their surprise to follow. Then, he looked over his shoulder at them:

"Come along, now." he said. "And bring your little friend."

He turned backed and continued his slow pace. The kids turned to Finn, confused. The blonde shrugged and started following Tempo. The others did likewise, with Radarr riding on Aerrow's back as they walked back to the small house.

The lights in the house were on, and cast a warm yellow glow once they'd cleared the forest. Tempo opened the door and let the kids inside before closing the door behind him.

"Finn, please go heat up the cooking crystals." he said to the blonde, then looked at Aerrow. "I always like a good cup of tea when I wake up in the middle of the night. Do you want some? It'll warm you right up."

"O-Okay, yes please." Aerrow said, hesitantly.

The man then looked to Piper.

"Would you like some too?" he asked.

The girl nodded.

"Yes please, sir."

He nodded and walked into the next room, which looked like the kitchen. They followed after him. There was a small table with four chairs in one corner, and Tempo pulled them out, indicating the two to sit. They did so, with Radarr settling on Aerrow's lap.

"I'll have to ask you to move," said Tempo to the animal. "I need to look at your friend's bandages. They've gotten loose."

Radarr churred unhappily, but, with a reassuring smile from his boy, went over to sit on one of the empty chairs. Aerrow lifted his injured arm onto the table and Tempo bent over to examine it. He undid Aerrow's sling and bandages, making the boy wince occasionally, then wrapped up his arm in new ones.

"Is he going to be okay?" Piper asked.

Satisfied with his work, Tempo smiled at her.

"In no time." he said, straightening himself. "So long as he's fine not writing for a day or two."

"It's okay," piped Aerrow. "I'm left-handed."

"Oh! Well then, that shouldn't be a problem."

He walked over to the other side of the kitchen where Finn had just managed to get the cooking crystals to start glowing, before Aerrow could explain that he didn't know how to write anyway. Finn joined them at the table and the four watched as Tempo made tea.

"Isn't he even a little mad at us?" Aerrow whispered to Finn.

The blonde shook his head.

"Don't think so. But he never gets mad, so you're safe."

Then he looked back at the man with nervous eyes.

"I think." he added uncertainly.

At that moment, Tempo came back with a tray carrying five cups of steaming tea.

"I figured your friend might want some." he said, sitting down as Radarr jumped down from his chair and climbed again into Aerrow's lap.

Tempo passed them each a cup and they all drank. The tea was a little hot, but it filled Aerrow's whole body with warmth and tasted good.

"So," Tempo set down his tea. "Why don't you two tell us a bit about yourselves? Where do you come from, and how did you get here on Terra Sparrow?"

Aerrow looked over to Piper, and she at him. The man seemed very nice and had patched them both up, but he wanted to see if she trusted him too. She gave a very small nod.

"My name's Aerrow," said the boy to Tempo and Finn, "and this is Radarr and Piper. We're both drifters."

"Drifters!" Finn bounced up in his seat. "Cool! I always wanted to be a drifter!"

Aerrow grinned at the praise. Tempo raised an eyebrow at Finn.

"Finn, don't interrupt." he said.

Finn sat back down.

"Yes sir," he mumbled.

Aerrow continued:

"Anyway, we had just left Terra..."

He looked to Piper, realizing he didn't even know which terra they had just left and silently asking her.

"Terra Muggen," she said. "We got into a storm after we left. We had no idea where we were going, but then we got out and we crashed here."

Aerrow nodded.

"Yeah,"

"How did you get out?" asked Tempo.

"Aerrow flew us out." Piper said. "He was piloting the skimmer."

"Whoa!" Finn stared at Aerrow in reverence. "You flew through a storm? That takes some mad skill! You must be an ace pilot!"

Aerrow scratched the back of his head.

"It wasn't...I mean, well..."

"He is!" Piper added, bringing a vivid blush to Aerrow's cheeks. "I don't think anybody could've flown that skimmer the way Aerrow did! He's the flyer I've ever seen!"

Radarr squeaked in agreement. Nobody could fly like Aerrow did!

"Could you teach me how to fly like that?" asked Finn, eyes wide.

"Um..."

Aerrow wanted to point out that he hadn't been able to fly through that storm on his own. It was that strange bird that had helped him; without it, he, Piper and Radarr would probably still be lost in all that wind, rain and thunder.

"Well..."

"Come on, please? I've never ridden a skimmer before! Not a real one! You've got to show me how!"

Finn clasped his hands, pouting pleadingly. He seemed truly desperate, and besides, the thought of showing someone else how to fly wasn't an unwelcome one.

"Sure, okay!" he said, grinning.

The blond whooped for joy.

"Alright!"

"Hold on now, Finn." Tempo held up a hand to quiet the excited child. "I think we need to ask Aerrow and Piper if they even want to stay here before we start planning flying lessons."

Finn lowered his arms.

"Oh...rrright,"

When Tempo looked back at the drifters, he wasn't smiling, but his expression was soft and concerned.

"You're both awfully young to be drifters. The Atmos can be a dangerous, especially when you're facing it alone."

"But we're not alone." said Aerrow. "We've got each other."

"You're right. You do." he smiled, then was serious once more. "But what about your parents? Aren't they worried about you?"

Piper looked down, and Aerrow couldn't meet Tempo's eyes.

"We're...orphans, sir." Piper said sadly.

"I see." Tempo nodded sorrowfully. "But what about the rest of your families? And friends? Couldn't they take care of you? Couldn't you have stayed on your home terras?"

Aerrow shook his head and lifted his eyes.

"Cyclonians took our terras, sir. We don't have families or friends left. Just us. We're on our own. And we can't go back to our terras."

"Aw man," breathed Finn.

He was quiet for a moment, then added:

"I'm an orphan too."

Aerrow looked up at the boy. Finn gave him a friendly smile.

"It'd be nice if you stayed. Tempo can take care of all of us, and it'll be great to have some not-boring people around for once!"

The prospect was inviting: a roof over their heads, a nice, warm and cozy bed. It'd be like having a home. And they wouldn't have to forage or scavenge for food anymore. However, Aerrow wanted Piper's opinion first. After all, what if he wanted to stay, but she didn't? She'd been a drifter much longer than he had. She was so used to taking care of herself, what if she didn't want to have someone else, even someone as nice as Tempo, taking care of her? He didn't want this decision to separate them. He was her friend, probably the only one she had. He didn't want her to be out in the dangers of the Atmos all by herself.

"What do you think?" he asked her.

She shrugged.

"Well, I-"

He couldn't wait.

"Because if you don't want to stay, Piper, it's alright. I'll go with you."

She looked up at him, startled.

"You don't have to do that, Aerrow." she said, but Aerrow insisted.

"I'm your friend, Piper. I'm not going to abandon you. You've already been alone for so long and-"

"No, I mean you don't have to leave this place."

Aerrow blinked, surprised. Piper smiled at him.

"I want to stay."

Then she turned to look at Tempo.

"If it's not any trouble, of course,"

Tempo chuckled lightly.

"No trouble at all. Besides, I think you two could be a good influence on Finn. He needs some more mature guidance."

Finn was indignant.

"I am mature!" he protested, exactly in the manner of an immaturely defiant child.

"Of course you are." said Tempo, in the exact tone an adult would use to tell an infant that he was adorable.

Aerrow snickered. He felt so happy and so relieved: his friends were safe, they'd found a place to stay, and perhaps they'd made a new friend in Finn. He wasn't sure what was going to happen here on Terra Sparrow, or even how long he, Radarr and Piper would stay; but for no, he didn't care.

"You must all be tired now." Tempo stood from his chair and collected the now empty cups. "Let's all get to bed. It's been quite a night for all of us."

At his words, Radarr yawned. Aerrow scratched his head and let his best friend rest on his shoulder. He was starting to feel sleepy too. They all followed Tempo out of the kitchen.

"Do I have to sleep in the guest room?" Finn asked, sounding peeved at the notion.

"Yes, Finn. But it's not the guest room anymore. It's the boy's room now. Piper will have your old bedroom."

"But why?" whined the blond. "She and Aerrow could sleep together."

"Finn, Piper is a young lady. It wouldn't be appropriate."

"I wouldn't mind," Piper started to say, but Tempo cut her off by ruffling her azure hair.

"As boys and girls get older, it's best they have their own rooms. And I insist on that."

Aerrow was mildly confused. After all, he and Piper had slept in the same cave back on Terra Muggen. Why would it make any difference if they shared a room?

"Why would it be inappropriate?" he asked Tempo.

For the first time, Tempo hesitated before he spoke next:

"It's something I'll explain to all of you when you're older." he said.

Aerrow's curiosity felt cheated, but his tiredness was too great for it to bother him. He yawned and re-entered the guest room. He looked over his shoulder to see Piper being led back into Finn's room.

"I hope she doesn't mess up my blanket." Finn grumbled, jumping into the second bed. "I'm gonna make Tempo switch our blankets tomorrow. But this means I'm gonna have to bring all my stuff in here."

Aerrow climbed into the bed he'd woken up in less than two hours before. Radarr woke up enough to burrow himself under the blanket, then almost immediately fell asleep again.

"I could help you move your stuff." said Aerrow, snuggling into the cozy softness. "And then we could start flying."

"Yeah, that sounds okay." Finn said, and Aerrow could hear the smile and budding excitement. "Well, *yaaawwwn* goodnight."

"Goodnight," Aerrow settled down more comfortably against the pillow. "Goodnight Radarr,"

Radarr let out a little snore in reply.

"Don't let the bedbugs bite." Finn murmured groggily before he too began to snore.

The redheaded boy smiled, before drifting off too, into sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

"So, the thing you need to know about flying is that it's actually real easy." Aerrow said to Finn. "Once you get the basics, you can figure the rest out by yourself."

The two boys, followed close behind by Radarr, ambled in back of the house to a large cabin. A week had passed since the crash, and now that the skimmer was fixed again, Aerrow was going to give Finn his first flying lessons, as the blond boy had begged the night they met.

"Like what?" Finn asked.

Aerrow shrugged

"You know, stuff other than just flying." he explained. "Like loops or rolls or stuff like that. I once did a loop-the-loop while I was flying. I didn't even know what I was doing until I did it!"

"Wow," Finn breathed in reverence. "That's awesome!"

Aerrow grinned.

"Yeah,"

Then he and Finn pulled open the cabin door. Inside, the skimmer leaned against the wall, rustic and beautiful.

"THAT's your ride?" Finn asked, sounding unimpressed.

"Yup, that's it." Aerrow nodded proudly.

Radarr chirruped in agreement. Finn frowned.

"It's kind of old, don't you think?" he asked.

"A little," said Aerrow, stepping inside. "But she's been with Radarr and me through thick and thin. And besides, it's the rider that's really important when you're flying, not the ride."

"If you say so," Finn said. "And I guess riding an old skimmer's better than not riding one at all."

"That's the spirit! Now help me push her out."

The two boys managed to drag the skyride out of the cabin and onto the grass.

"It's heavy!" Finn panted, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.

"But it flies." Aerrow countered.

Before the blond could reply, he patted the skimmer's seat.

"Alright, hop on."

Finn stared at him, confused.

"Me?"

Aerrow nodded.

"You want to learn how to fly, don't you?" he asked.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Don't worry! I'll coach you from the ground, and if you get into trouble, Radarr will be there to help you." he turned to his furry companion. "Right bud?"

The animal nodded reassuringly. Over the days spent with Finn, he'd warmed up to him, forgiving the lad for having called him a pet. Besides, he'd learned never to make that mistake again. What with always playing with Aerrow, and therefore with each other, they'd grown to tolerate and eventually appreciate one another. Finn was still wary though. He'd never even been on an actual skyride before. The closest thing he'd ever gotten to that was the skytrike Tempo had gotten him when he was little, and that he ended up crashing against a tree. But that was a different story.

"Okay," Finn said, finally clambering on board the skimmer.

Radarr hopped onto the ride behind him. Aerrow gave the duo a thumbs-up. Finn returned the gesture with a half-hearted smile.

"Okay, so you need to hold on the handlebars here." said Aerrow, pointing at them.

Finn eagerly grabbed the handlebars.

"Okay," he said. "And how do I turn it on?"

Aerrow pointed at a small button on the right bar.

"You press that button," he said, "but-"

Finn pressed the button. The machine roared to life.

"Whoa,"

Aerrow took a few steps back, not wanting to be in Finn's way.

"Alright, now, all you gotta do is-"

But Finn seemed to either be deaf or have already figured out, through some atmosian instinct, where to go from there. Sort of. He gunned the throttle and-

ZOOOM!

"WAAAAAAAAAH!"

The skimmer shot down the grass as fast as it could go! Aerrow dove aside, covering his head, then peeked between his fingers to see Finn driving like a madman up a hill! Radarr was in the grass, looking like he'd just jumped ship. Aerrow ran to him.

"You okay, buddy?" he asked.

Radarr nodded dizzily.

"HHHHAAAEEEEEELLLPPP!"

Aerrow scrambled to his feet.

"HANG ON FINN!" he cried, running as fast as he could to catch up with the runaway skimmer.

Radarr, blinking stars out of his eyes, got to his feet and scampered after him. Finn was gripping the handlebars so tight his knuckles were white, and screaming:

"WHAT DO I DOOO?!"

"TURN THE HANDLEBARS!" shouted Aerrow! "TURN THEM THIS WAY!"

Finn looked at his hands, and pulled the bars to the left. The G-Force made his cheeks ripple, and it fought with Finn over control over the ride! The handlebars barely moved!

"THEY WON'T BUDGE!" he cried, before turning back to look where he was going. "AAAH!"

He was heading right for the tall forest! Adrenaline shot through him and he pulled sharply on the bars! The skimmer spun 180 degrees like a ballerina, uprooting a shower of grass, and raced away from the trees! Aerrow grabbed Radarr's ears and leaped! They landed right behind Finn just as the ride streaked past!

"WHAT THE-WOW! HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!"

Aerrow didn't have time to answer that question, or even fathom the answer.

"Jump off!"

Finn nearly had a heart attack then and there!

"WHAT? NO WAY!"

"Do it now!" Aerrow shouted.

Left no choice, Finn jumped, squealing. He landed, a little hard, but uninjured, in the grass. Aerrow grabbed the handlebars with one hand and set Radarr on his back with the other. The seasoned co-pilot immediately dug his claws into Aerrow's shirt. Once the boy was sure his friend was safely secured to him, he expertly wrenched the skimmer to the side and slowed the acceleration. But the skimmer wasn't stopping yet! As they were passing Finn, still on the ground, Aerrow jumped off as well, pushing the skimmer to the side with a foot before leaping from it. He rolled on the ground once before coming to a stop. The skimmer, free from the pressure on the acceleration, slowed and skidded to a halt. It fell over on its side with a slight "Clunk!" next to the large patch of bare earth. The boys looked up at it, almost expecting it to explode or fall apart. But nothing happened. The two began to breathe again, and their faces split into twin smiles.

"Wow!" Finn panted. "That was...That was fun!"

"Yeah!" Aerrow snickered, then he turned to look at Finn.

The boys' eyes were bright and excited. They burst into laughter. Radarr, clinging to Aerrow as for dear life, relaxed, looking at the two boys in a baffled "You are both nuts," kind of way. Finally, Aerrow stood and helped Finn up.

"Maybe we shouldn't try that again."

"Yeah," Aerrow said, looking at that skyride, which limped against the ground as though it too were exhausted by the ordeal. "We'll do it tomorrow. And we'll do it better too."

Finn agreed, and with that, the boys began the task of pushing the skimmer back into its cabin shelter. As they crested the hill leading toward it, they saw Piper running toward them, dark blue pigtails streaming.

"What were you guys doing out there?" she asked, slightly out of breath.

Aerrow grinned at her.

"Trying to teach Finn how to fly a skimmer for the first time."

Piper scanned the boys, noticing the spots of dirt and messy hair.

"You look like you've been in another wreck." she said.

"Bah, we're fine!" Finn waved away her remark. "No need to fuss!"

Piper crossed her arms and frowned at the blond boy.

"I wasn't fussing; I was just making sure you guys weren't hurt!"

Her voice was fierce and adamant, and it took Aerrow back a little. Finn too flinched at the tone, yet he got over his fright and even rolled his eyes.

"Geez, do you always baby your friends like this?"

Aerrow darted a look at Finn, but Piper blinked, startled. Then, it seemed the fire had gone out of her and Aerrow suddenly felt like he'd stepped back in time and was looking at the shy, timid girl he'd first met on Terra Muggen. The Piper he had yet to befriend. The girl stepped back, looking at her feet, then turned and fled.

"Piper, wait!" Aerrow called after her, but too late.

She was already gone. Finn stared at where she'd been, confused.

"Was it something I said?" he asked, turning to Aerrow.

The boy's green eyes saddened.

"I think your hurt her feelings." he said.

"Huh?" Finn started. "But why? I didn't say anything! I was just asking if she always acted like that with her friends, all protective and "mother hen" and stuff."

Radarr frowned at Finn. He didn't have a clue what was going on! Not to mention he'd been so insensitive to his boy's girl!

"That's the thing, Finn;" Aerrow said, unaware of Radarr's silent scolding. "Piper doesn't have any other friends." he explained sadly.

This, Finn hadn't been expecting. He stared at Aerrow, and he looked serious.

"Oh," he said.

He looked away, suddenly feeling sorry for the girl.

"So, you're all she's got?" he asked.

Aerrow nodded. He turned his eyes to where Piper had run off.

"I'm going to see if she's okay." he said, stepping out from behind the skimmer to find his friend.

* * *

He found her sitting under the shade of a leafy tree, reading intently from a book settled on her lap. When she heard his footsteps on the grass, she looked up at him. She hadn't been crying, as Aerrow had thought, and she seemed, if anything, pleasantly surprised to see him there.

"Hey," he greeted.

She smiled a small, shy smile.

"Hi," she said in return, closing the book.

Aerrow waited a heartbeat before he asked:

"Can I sit?"

Piper nodded and scooted a little to the side so he could sit beside her.

"Look, Piper, don't be too upset about Finn." Aerrow said. "He didn't mean-"

"It's not that I'm upset about."

Aerrow blinked at her in surprise.

"Oh, it's not?"

The girl shook her head.

"Then, what is it?" he asked, feeling very confused.

Why wouldn't Piper be upset about a reminder of her lonely past? Finn's comment had made her leave, but not for the reasons Aerrow had thought.

"Well, it's..." Piper hesitated, tilting her head and self-consciously twisting one of her pigtails around.

Then, it seemed she had made up her mind:

"Aerrow," she said, sounding as timid and shy as the day he'd met her, "are we still going to be friends?"

Aerrow was aghast.

"What do you mean? Of course we are! Why would you ask that?"

Piper was taken aback. She blinked her orange eyes in surprise.

"Well, I just thought," she looked away at Aerrow incredulous stare and even blushed a faint pink in embarrassment, "that you'd want to play with Finn more than with me."

"Why, 'cause we're both boys?"

"Kind of," Piper admitted.

In later years, Piper would look back on this moment and cringe at how childish her fear had been. However, Piper had been alone for years and was still only a child, no matter how mature she was for her years. So all things considered, her fear of losing the one friend she had was understandable. And so we must forgive her, dear readers. But getting back to the story, Aerrow shook his head.

"That's not going to happen, Piper." he said, grabbing her hand and causing her to look at him.

He looked into her big, beautiful amber eyes and said:

"Finn's our friend now, but you are my best friend, Piper. Where you go, I go. And I'm not going to leave you behind, ever. Okay?"

The promise brought a smile to Piper's face. Her fingers tightened around his own so that their hands were entwined.

"Thank you, Aerrow," she said, soft and brimming with gratitude. "That really helps."

Aerrow smiled back at her. But the tender moment between the friends by a cough. Both children looked up to see Radarr and Finn standing, rather awkwardly in the latter's case, a few feet from them.

"Um…hi, Piper," he said, lifting a hand in a weak wave.

Aerrow and Piper stared in confusion. Finn's expression rosied a little.

"I, uh…um, Aerrow told me about…well, that you don't…um…have many friends, and, well…"

Poor Finn shifted from foot to foot, looking so at a loss of what to do. He wasn't used to apologizing, especially not to a girl. It was taking a severe toll on his pride.

"And, well, I guess it wasn't a really nice thing to remind you of…and I know Aerrow really wants us to be friends…so…Tempo told me to apologize to you and ask you to be friends." he finally let out in a single breath.

This wasn't actually true; he hadn't told Tempo anything of what had boiled down earlier. In fact, the one who came closest to telling Finn to apologize to Piper had been Radarr, but he hadn't done that either. Radarr had just led the boy to where Aerrow and Piper were sitting and, whenever the blond looked like he was going to change his mind, growled at him as a reminder that he had to do this. The lie made Radarr slap a palm against his face, and even Aerrow could tell this wasn't true. He rolled his green eyes, and was about to tell Finn off, when Piper stood up.

"I accept your apology, Finn.

The boys looked surprised.

"On one condition," she added.

She pointed a finger at the blond.

"You don't try to flirt with me again."

Finn stared at the finger directed at his face, then shrugged, trying to appear careless, but it was a little spoiled by the look of evident relief in his azure eyes.

"Sure," he said. "Besides, I wouldn't want to flirt with you anymore anyway. Since you're living with us now, it'd be like flirting with my sister or something."

He made a face at the thought. Piper's expression was similar in disgust. Then, she held out her hand. Finn shook hers. Aerrow watched the exchange with a growing smile. Finally, once the two had released each other's hands, he stood.

"Great, so does this mean we're all friends now?"

Radarr scrambled up his shoulder and chirruped. He certainly thought so. The children all laughed.

"Okay, so we're all friends," Finn said, then his face fell. "So, what do we do now?"

Aerrow didn't have the faintest idea. He turned to look at Piper.

"Do you have any ideas?" he asked her.

"Actually, I do." smiled the girl, her happiness bright in her dark face. "It came to me while I was reading this book."

She bent down to pick up the book she'd been reading before Aerrow had come to find her. On it was a picture of a warrior in shining (well, it looked shiny in the drawing) golden armor.

"We're going to play sky knight!" she said.

The boys were thrilled at the idea! Sky knights were the perfect characters to use in a pretend game. Every atmosian child knew about them, as a tale spun to them from their earliest days. They were also every atmosian boy's dream, with their adventures, their brave squadrons, their awesome weaponry, their amazing fighting skills and special moves, the honor and justice they spread over the terras! Aerrow felt his heart flutter at the sheer notion of it all.

"I call dibs on being the sky knight!" he shouted.

"No fair! I was about to call dibs!" Finn whined.

The children quickly started a debate on who would play the sky knight, and finally settled the matter with a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Aerrow won, and Finn then said he should at least be a squadron member for the game. Piper then pointed out that they needed to decide which sky knight squadron they would be pretending, because they couldn't just make up their own. Finn argued that they could, that this was a game, not school, but Aerrow was eager to find out which squadrons they had to choose from. So Piper opened her book and showed them the different squadrons, their pictures, the terras they protected (Terra Sparrow, they learned, was protected by the Bronze Sparrows, a not-so-very renowned squadron for a not-so-very renowned terra). It made for a fun learning experience, and in the end the three chose to pretend they were the Interceptors of Terra Messa with Radarr as a cyclonian. They played their game until Tempo called them in for lunch. After they'd eaten, they quickly rushed outside with Piper's book to choose a new squadron to play as.

* * *

The night was close to its end by now, ready to give way to shining day. Tempo sat in his kitchen, drinking another cup of tea. He was waiting until it was time for the meeting. In fact, he would've left earlier, but that would mean leaving the children all alone longer than necessary. Call him a worry-wart, he was fond of them, and didn't like the idea of leaving them unprotected. They had played their games of sky knights all day, and they were worn out, as children sweetly are when they have finished their play.

He turned his head to look out the window. Then again, if he didn't leave now, he'd be late. After all, he was old, and not as fast a flyer as he used to be. Tempo stood from his chair and walked slowly to the front door. He reached over to the umbrella stand and pulled out a long, black walking stick.

After Tempo stepped out and locked the door, he tapped the stick on the ground, and lines of bright colour shot up the sides. They gathered at the top and flashed brilliantly. In a bright flash, Tempo was replaced with a bird identical to the one that had led Aerrow to this terra. The bird soared up and away, gliding over wind and moonlight. He flew at a speed that would shame the fastest skimmer, yet the flight was nearly effortless. Finally, he arrived at a mountainside cave and swooped inside. Light flashed, and Tempo was transformed. His tattered clothes had changed to silvery-white, with a hood that resembled a bird's head bowed down. The light from his staff pulsed gently as he looked around at his fellow guardians. There were only four of them. Including him, only five guardians were in the cave.

"Where is Arygyn?" Tempo asked.

A guardian dressed in stormy black with the hood pulled low over his face huffed in disapproval.

"Hmph! Most likely fooling around and wasting time, as usual."

His neighbour, in dark blue-grey and silver, frowned at him.

"It's not wasteful to spend time among mortals." she said. "He's keeping watch over them."

"Speaking of keeping watch," Tempo spoke. "I found the youngest son. The youngest son of Lightning Strike."

The guardians hardly reacted. They simply stared at him. Except for one, dressed in silver, who sighed with tangible relief.

"That is good news."

"But it doesn't change much." said his black-clad neighbour.

Tempo stiffened.

"Why not?" he said, dangerously calm.

"With respect," spoke the female guardian, "this is the youngest son, Tempo. We already have his older brother, and he will be Lightning's heir. He is already being trained. He knows his destiny already; to rebuild the storm hawks and defeat Cyclonia once and for all!"

Tempo knew all this was true. Lightning's eldest son had been brought to by care for by the guardians long ago, and was already, according to his trainers, a very capable warrior. Compared to him, Aerrow was only a child. However, he was still a son of the greatest sky knight in history, and Tempo felt obliged to defend him.

"But what if something were to happen to him? What if, in the worst case scenario, Lightning's heir was killed by cyclonians before he was ready?"

"Lightning had a daughter too." said the guardian in black. "She was the second child. If something happens to her older brother, she will inherit."

"And Aerrow would only be the sky knight of the storm hawks if both of his siblings perished." Tempo guessed.

The guardians, except the leader, all nodded.

"Then Aerrow is of no importance?" asked Tempo, an indignant anger growing in him. "Just because he's the youngest son, does that mean he doesn't merit protection or training too? Even if he's not the next storm hawk, even if he's not the one destined to bring down Cyclonis, he is a son of Lightning Strike, just like his brother."

There was silence in the cave, until the leader of the guardians, dressed not in grey, black or silver, but in tarnished brown and gold, lifted his deep green eyes.

"Tempo is right." he said, drawing four pairs of eyes to him. "All of Lightning's children deserve our protection. They must all be prepared."

He turned to the guardians dressed in black and silver.

"You will continue to train the eldest son, continue preparing him for what is to come."

They nodded, and he looked next at the female guardian.

"Send your brother to find the daughter." he said. "She already knows about her family and what it means, but it will not do any harm in readying her."

"And what about my Kaya?" asked the guardian.

"Arygyn is a good trainer, he will look after Lightning's daughter, and you will look after yours. Once Kaya's old enough, you can take her with you to join your brother."

"Of course, master."

The leader then turned to Tempo.

"Keep Aerrow safe." he said. "You plan to do it anyway. Protect him. Train him too, if you can."

"Thank you, master." Tempo bowed.

The leader nodded, smiling under his brown moustache at the eldest guardian. Then, in a flash of light, the guardians all transformed once again into birds and dispersed. Tempo looked over his shoulder once to see his fellow guardians fly in separate directions before they faded from his sight. Then, he let the wind carry his old, weary wings back to Terra Sparrow. By then, the sky was pink and orange with the sunrise, so it was definitely too late to go back to sleep. Sighing, Tempo transformed and landed on the doorstep to his house, his knees buckling a little at his feet touched the ground.

'I'm getting a little old for this,' he said.

Too old for flying, too old for landing, and certainly too old to train a young boy to be a sky knight. But then again, you never knew. Perhaps the games he and his friends played could help train him.


	7. Chapter 7

Aerrow, Finn, Piper and Radarr were inseparable. They played together almost constantly, most often about sky knights, and would go exploring Terra Sparrow, getting into all kinds of mischief. Their small adventures sometimes brought them to the small town nearby, though not often. They were most comfortable with each other, even Finn, who had lived on Terra Sparrow his whole life. However, that had to come to an end once they began school. Much as the children were reluctant, as all children are when going to school, and no matter how much they begged Tempo to teach them at home, they went, as all children must. It wasn't as bad as they thought; in fact, it made them appreciate their freedom of playtime even more.

Several weeks after school had started, the four friends (including Radarr) sat in the grass behind Tempo's house, looking up as the clouds chased each other across the sky and talking.

"All I'm saying is that he doesn't have to be such a show-off about it." Finn said, referring to one of their classmates. "Sure, the mayor's his dad, but he won't stop reminding us of it!"

"You'd show off if your dad was the mayor." Piper pointed out.

Finn made an indignant gasp.

"No I wouldn't!"

"Yes, you would!" said Aerrow. "If your dad was mayor, you'd never let us forget it!"

It was two against one. Make that three if counted Radarr. Faced with such opposition, Finn had to back down.

"Okay, maybe I would," he shrugged. "But I wouldn't know. I never knew my dad."

Piper blinked in surprise at Finn.

"You didn't know your dad either?" she asked.

He nodded.

"My grandma told me about him though. She said he died before I was born when his terra was invaded by cyclonians. Kind of a cool way to go, actually," then, seeing the look of disbelief mixed with slight indignation on his friends' faces, he added quickly. "I mean, it's not cool that he's dead, but he died fighting. That's a lot better than dying 'cause you got sick or something."

"But, aren't you sad about it?" Piper asked, sounding incredulous at Finn's nonchalance. "I mean, he was your dad. Don't you even care?"

Finn jumped at the small outburst.

"Of course I care!" he said. "But he died before I was even born. I never knew him, so I don't really miss him or anything."

Piper's hackles went down. It made some sense: how could you miss someone you'd never known?

"What about your mom?" asked Aerrow.

"Don't remember her either. She died giving birth to me. Grandma told me that too."

Finn was as untroubled about his mother as his father. Untroubled and free the heavy weight of care. The two children found themselves envying him.

"I wish I had a grandmother to tell me about my mother." Piper said.

Finn looked over at her sympathetically.

"Oh, did your mom die giving birth to you too?"

Piper shook her head.

"No, she abandoned me." she said sadly.

Beside her, Aerrow gasped.

"Abandoned you?" he asked, incredulous. "That's horrible! Why would she do that?"

The girl shrugged.

"I don't know."

"What about on your home terra? Did anyone take care of you there?"

This time, she nodded.

"A woman named Ciel looked after me. She was a widow and had three kids of her own, but she told me that my mother dropped me off at her doorstep one night, so she decided to keep me. But she wouldn't tell me anything else about my mother, and nothing about my father. That's one of the reasons I ran away: I wanted to find them, maybe try to convince them to take me back."

She trailed off, as though she knew how foolish that hope had been: a little girl with nothing but a skybike and a backpack full of things, trying to find her estranged parents in the wide world of Atmos. It sounded almost impossible.

"It was kind of a silly dream." mumbled Piper.

Aerrow put a hand on her shoulder.

"No, it's not." he said, making her look at him. "You didn't find them before, but who knows? If you start searching again, I'm sure you could find them somehow. And you'd have some help this time."

"Yeah," Finn added, slightly hesitantly, for this still sounded like a wild goose chase to him.

Radarr chirped enthusiastically. Piper smiled.

"Thanks guys," she said. "But you're all the family I need now."

A little flutter of warm happiness bubbled inside Aerrow at her words. Family: yes, that's what they were.

"What about you, Aerrow?" Finn asked. "Do you remember your parents?"

He looked at Aerrow expectantly, and Piper too was curious. The red-haired boy suddenly felt strangely shy under the combined gaze. Radarr, on his lap, put his little, comforting paws on Aerrow's hand.

"I...don't remember my parents either." he said.

That wasn't enough. Just saying he couldn't remember his parents couldn't convey the whole truth.

"Actually," he amended. "I don't remember anything from when I was little."

This caught their attention. Both children now stared at him.

"What do you mean "anything"?" Finn's blue eyes were wide with disbelief. "Like, you really don't remember anything?"

Aerrow shook his head.

"What happened?" Piper asked, sounding so dismayed and worried.

"I don't know," Aerrow reached up to scratch the back of his neck. "I think I was four or something when it happened. I remember running and a lot of fire and smoke. Then I was knocked out and, next thing I knew, I woke up and had no idea where I was or who I was. Anyway, Radarr managed to sneak into my cell and find me. I didn't recognize him at first, but then it came back to me. I remembered who I was and who Radarr was, but that's pretty much it."

Piper frowned.

"Wait, a cell?"

Radarr's ears perked up and he looked up at his boy. Would he tell them? But Aerrow had flinched, as though the word brought back memories he'd been trying so hard to bottle up, to keep from rising to the surface.

"It's nothing."

"Doesn't sound like nothing." said Finn.

Aerrow hesitated. He didn't like talking about what happened. It was like trying to open a small crack in a dam to let some water leak out, but risk letting out the entire flood. He glanced up at his friends. They were watching him expectantly, but also worriedly. Finally, as though pulled by an invisible string, the words forced themselves out, before Aerrow could hold them back any longer.

"My terra was attacked by cyclonians. Not a lot of people survived. Those who did got thrown into cages."

Piper and Finn's faces changed from concern and curiosity to shock, dismay and fear.

"You were prisoners?" asked Piper, her orange eyes wide.

Aerrow nodded, biting his lip. The dam was dangerously close to breaking. Then he felt Radarr nudged his soft head under his hand. He looked down, and met his best friend's gaze. His big, yellow, worried eyes, the eyes that had seen the same horrors he had and had lived through them with him, brought a gentle wave of calm, and even dimmed the terrifying memories enough for the boy to smile and scratch the animal's ears. Radarr relaxed and rumbled softly at the gesture.

"Dude..." Finn breathed, breaking Aerrow from his trance.

He looked at Finn. He was staring at Aerrow in awe.

"How did you escape?" he asked.

The memories were still rather painful to recall, but not as bad as before. And besides, thinking about his and Radarr's escape made Aerrow feel better.

"We ran." he explained. "We got away from the guards that were taking us back to our cell, then we climbed over the wall. When they started chasing us, we found an old skyride and flew away. Then we were free." he smiled at the last words.

"Wow..." Finn breathed.

Piper's mouth was slightly open as she listened to the tale. She was impressed too. Finally, though, she asked:

"When did you escape?"

"A few months ago..."

"Whoa..."

Finn was still lost in admiration for Aerrow's escape.

"So that really wasn't a long time before you met me." said Piper.

"Yeah, I guess it wasn't."

Aerrow wasn't exactly sure when he had escaped from his terra, but surely it wasn't very long before he did meet Piper. He remembered first landing on Terra Muggen, one of the first terras with people on it that he'd ever seen apart from his former home. He remembered feeling a bit frightened by the thought of entering the town at first, then only a lingering wariness, because the people were unfriendly, but at least they weren't cyclonians.

"And what about your memories?" asked the girl, to which Finn finally snapped out of his slack-jawed state. "Have you gotten any of them back?"

Aerrow shook his head.

"Not really."

Then, he thought about it.

"But, sometimes, I get sort of...flashbacks or something. Mostly when I'm sleeping. But they're all really fuzzy, and I can't understand them."

"Have you tried looking for answers? Tried to find out about your family, your parents, your childhood?"

"I've never thought about it." he admitted.

Piper seemed shocked.

"Why?" she asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Oh, give him a break, Piper!" Finn interjected. "Aerrow doesn't have to find out why he's forgotten his parents! He just escaped from a cyclonian prison! He escaped the cyclonians! I've never heard of anyone doing that! Especially not a kid! That's awesome!"

Aerrow looked at the blond in surprise.

"I guess it is pretty awesome when you put it that way." he said, a smile starting to grow on his face.

Finn nodded, grinning.

"Yeah it is!"

Piper didn't seem quite as enthusiastic.

"But what is Aerrow going to do now that he HAS escaped?" she asked, effectively stamping down the smiles of the two boys. "I mean, you can't just spend the rest of your life running away from what happened."

Aerrow frowned. The way Piper said it made him sound like a coward little boy. He hadn't been a coward! He'd escaped! And he hadn't been running away, he'd been enjoying his freedom, something he hadn't had since he could remember! Piper had been lucky, she'd run away before the cyclonians invaded her terra. She hadn't seen her home be burned and reduced to rubble. She hadn't been locked in chains. And Finn had never seen what the cyclonians could do. Not in person. They had been free for their whole lives. Aerrow and Radarr hadn't. Why should they have to do anything when they finally managed to get their freedom back? Piper saw the look on Aerrow's face, clearly seeing he was upset, and added:

"I'm just saying...it doesn't sound like living to me."

This made Aerrow pause.

"What do you mean?" he asked, now curious rather than angry.

Even Finn looked at Piper questioningly. She explained:

"Well, when you escaped, you just flew away from your home terra. You and Radarr became drifters and learned how to survive on your own, but that's pretty much all you did: survive and fly away from the cyclonians. It's like...you think you're free, but you're really just stuck in a new kind of cage, one that you can't escape from because it's always following you: the fear of being caught again. So you're really just as trapped as before."

She paused.

"Does that make sense?" she asked.

Aerrow thought it did. In fact, when he thought about it, Piper's description fit perfectly. He and Radarr had done nothing but fly away from their former home. They were always flying, always running away, always trying to stay as far away from what happened. And it sounded no better than being a prisoner. But still, it had to be better than what they'd left behind, right? After all, just the thought of what they'd been through, what the cyclonians had done to their home, to all those innocent people...Aerrow shivered. It was too horrible. Aerrow suddenly realized that his friends had gone quiet. They were looking at him with worry etched into their faces.

"Okay," he said, "so maybe I was running away, and I was scared, and afraid. But what else could I do? When you're a prisoner for so long, and then you escape, how can you do besides run away? And how do you just stop being scared that it'll happen again? That they'll go after you and catch you and...ground you again."

The children all winced lightly at the word. "Grounded" was atmosian slang for being caged or trapped or even defeated. It brought the image of a bird with its wings clipped off. It was the worst thing anyone could imagine. The four were all silent for a while, until Piper scooted over to Aerrow and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked up, into her warm amber eyes, and she smiled at him.

"Well, you don't have to be afraid anymore, Aerrow." she said. "Those cyclonians won't get you, I promise. And even if they do, this time, you'll have us."

"Yeah!" Finn said. "You can count on us, Aerrow! We're there for ya!"

Radarr nodded. His boy wouldn't ever have to be alone and afraid anymore. Not if he had anything to say about it!

"You promised me that you'd never leave me, Aerrow. Well, I'm making the same promise."

Aerrow beamed at his two friends.

"Thanks, guys," he said, wrapping them all in a hug.

* * *

But even as Aerrow got into bed that night, he couldn't stop thinking about the day's conversation. Unable to sleep, he lay awake, eyes wide and staring at the ceiling. He'd been running away. Up until now, from the moment he'd gotten off of his terra, he'd been running, like a scared, helpless little child. Nothing but running and not dying. Looking back, it seemed like a lonely, empty way to live.

He sighed. At least he wasn't living like that anymore. He was free; he had a home, and friends who were like a family. So what would he do now? What could he do now? Aerrow's eyes widened as he realized he could do something now that he hadn't been able to in all those miserable years on his terra: he could hope, and he could dream. He could think of the future. And out here, out in the whole of Atmos, the future was without boundaries. There wasn't anything stopping from doing...anything. The possibilities were endless and unlimited, and Aerrow's heart fluttered at the thought of it all.

But then it sank as he thought, once more, about his old terra. He was free, but the other prisoners weren't. They couldn't dream of what the future held for them. They didn't have unlimited possibilities ahead of them. Instead, they were trapped...chained...grounded.

This made Aerrow feel sadder than he'd ever been in his life. What the cyclonians had done wasn't just to him. It had been his whole terra, and more. Who knows how many people were sitting in their cells, miserable and without any sign of hope? It broke Aerrow's heart, just thinking about it. But what could he do? How could he help all of those prisoners? What could he do? What could he do?

And then it came. And as the idea came, Aerrow slowly sat up in bed. Then he dropped onto the floor. His blood was dancing with fire. He couldn't keep it inside, he had to tell someone. Carefully, he opened his and Finn's bedroom door and creeped out to Piper's bedroom.

"Piper?" he knocked gently at her door. "Are you awake?"

There was a moment of silence, then the soft padding of feet on the floor, and then the door opened. Piper looked back at him, in her patched, soft grey pyjamas, her untied hair sticking up vertically on her head.

"I am now." she whispered, then looked at him in concern. "What is it, Aerrow? Can't sleep?"

He shook his head. Before he could ask if he could come in, Piper opened the door further to let him inside, the shut it softly behind him. The two climbed onto Piper's bed and sat in front of each other.

"I was thinking about what you said today," he said, "about running and being afraid."

Piper nodded.

"M-hm?"

Aerrow looked at his hands.

"And you were right. Always running away and always being afraid, that wasn't living. It was just...not dying."

"You mean surviving." Piper corrected.

Aerrow nodded, then he looked up at her, and Piper saw a bright determination shining in his green eyes, so bright it could've lit up the room.

"And I'm tired of it." he said, his eyes still glowing with that bright determination. "I'm tired of running and being afraid. So I'm not going to run anymore."

"But what happened to you and your terra-?" Piper began.

Aerrow shook his head.

"I don't want it to happen ever again. But I don't want it to happen to anyone else either. No one else should have to see their terra destroyed, or have to lose their parents like that. That's why I'm not gonna run from the Cyclonians. I'm gonna stand and fight them back!"

Piper stared at her friend with awe and amazement.

"How?"

Aerrow grinned.

"I'm gonna be a sky knight!" he said, proudly.

The words were a joy to speak, and they filled him with something new, but comforting: purpose. He felt braver, stronger, just being saying them. Of course, he had fancied the notion of becoming a sky knight before. But it was a child's dream, one that was born of their games and all the things Aerrow had heard about them. A pretend-dream from a pretend-game. But now, the dream was solid, the drive and the ambition real. He wanted to be a sky knight. He would be a sky knight. It felt so right saying it, thinking it, believing it at last. Piper's eyes widened further at Aerrow's declaration.

"Really?!" she squeaked, trying to keep her excitement as whisper-quiet as she could. "But you don't know how to fight." she pointed out.

"I'll learn how," Aerrow vowed, "just like I learned how to fly."

"It'll be dangerous." Piper said, for though she was impressed by Aerrow's ambition, and wanted to encourage him, she also wanted to caution him.

Protecting the people of Atmos came with great risks, dangers and responsibilities, and Piper hoped Aerrow could grasp that. But Aerrow smiled at her, and there was reassurance in his voice as he said:

"Doesn't matter. I'm still going to do it."

Aerrow wasn't blind to the risks Piper was concerned about. He had heard over and over from Piper's book and from school that being a sky knight was dangerous work. He knew it meant going into battle and fighting for your life, possibly going to war, and perhaps even, in the end, having to sacrifice your life for Atmos. He knew all that, but he couldn't let that deter him. He remembered the fire and the fear and the screaming, and, afterwards, the despair in the faces of the other survivors, their chains clinking, their faces streaked with tears, mourning the ones they'd lost and the lives that had been snatched away from them. He couldn't bear the thought of that happening to anyone else: to other kids like Piper and Finn, to be orphaned and thrown into cages that reeked of fear. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't EVER let that happen. Not if he could stop it.

"Are you sure, Aerrow?" Piper asked him.

He nodded.

"Positive,"

She searched his eyes, and it seemed to dispel her fears. She smiled.

"I think you'll make a great sky knight, Aerrow." she said.

The praise lifted Aerrow's spirits so they spread their wings and soared throughout him. He beamed.

"Thanks, Piper."

His friend's smiled widened, then she yawned. Aerrow realized it must've been pretty late, and he was keeping her up. He slid off her bed and tiptoed to her door. Piper followed though, to whisper a small "Goodnight," as Aerrow stepped into the hall, and to receive Aerrow's soft "'Night," in return before he closed the door. Aerrow tiptoed back to his room and snuck in. Finn let out a sleep-ridden mumble, but didn't stir further, just rolled over and continued snoring. Aerrow slid under his covers, slightly nudging Radarr who kicked his back foot in protest before his boy brought him close. The animal churred contentedly and snuggled close, still sleeping. Aerrow fell asleep too, eventually.

* * *

Junko knew he was the biggest or the strongest wallop on Atmos. He'd known it his whole life. That didn't stop the other wallops from reminding him, though.

So when Junko came back from school with his glasses broken and his clothes and books a mess, you could pretty much guess why it was so. The wallop dropped his bag of ripped tatters formerly known as books onto the floor, causing a loud thump. Sighing, he picked up the strap and dragged it behind him. Hearing the thump, and the dragging, a large, formidable-looking female wallop peeked out from the kitchen door.

"What's with the long face, Junko?" she asked, stepping out and brushing crumbs off of her apron.

"Nothing, Aunt Eunice."

Junko pulled out a chair and slumped into it. Eunice, unconvinced, pulled a second one out for herself.

"Nothing doesn't break your glasses." she said.

She reached out and gingerly removed them from her nephew's face before reaching into her pocket and extracting a brand new pair. Junko brightened at the sight of them.

"Thanks," he said, putting them on.

"I had a feeling you'd need some new ones soon." explained Eunice. "We're really going through a lot, aren't we?"

Junko nodded, shrugging his shoulders apologetically.

"Sorry, auntie."

"Don't be sorry," Eunice said. "Tell me instead what's happened today."

"Well," Junko started, brushing the dirt from his clothing, "we had this history lesson in school, and the teacher told us about a test coming up-Ow!" he yelped as Eunice punched his shoulder.

"I didn't say "Tell about your lessons", Junko; I said to tell me what happened! Why did your glasses break? Why are you all dirty and dusty? And what's happened to your books?!" she grabbed the school bag and emptied its contents on the table for emphasis, then set back down and looked intensely at her nephew. "What happened today, Junko? Tell me."

Junko told her. He told her about the bullies who'd tracked him down during lunch, who'd laughed at him and called him a gleep over and over. He told her that he tried to make them stop, but how they beat him up for his efforts. When he was done, he was quiet, with his head hung and his ears drooping. He never liked talking about those school bullies. It was an all-too fresh reminder of how weak he was.

"I...I wish I was strong like them, aunt Eunice." he said, looking up at her at last.

"Why do you want that?" she asked, to her nephew's shock.

"Well...well because if I was strong like all the other wallops, then they wouldn't pick on me!" he said, the words almost bursting from his mouth. "They'd have never picked on me if I was big and strong like them! Then they wouldn't tease me and pick on me and call me a gleep..."

He trailed off sadly. Thinking about gleeps reminded him of Manky, the timid little creature he'd befriended as a child. But little Manky had passed on, and Junko still felt sad that he was gone. That gleep had been the only friend he'd ever had.

"Junko,"

He felt his aunt's hand rest gently on his shoulder. He looked up at her.

"Junko, you are a strong wallop. Maybe not that much on the outside, but on the inside," she tapped a spot on his chest, right over his heart, "you're bigger and better than any wallop on this terra."

"How can you know that?" Junko asked her.

"Because I'm your aunt, and you're my nephew, that's why." she said. "I know you, Junko. And I know that it doesn't matter how strong you are, because you've managed to put up with all that bullying your whole life. That means you got something most wallops don't. You've got real heart, Junko, and you've got brains to go with it! You're smarter than most adult wallops I know. So who cares about your muscles! You've got something more important, Junko, you hear me? Don't listen to those bullies, because they can't hold a candle to what you've got."

Junko did feel better, hearing this praise.

"You really think so, auntie?" he asked. "You really mean all that?"

"Of course I mean it!" she said. "I don't talk for the pleasure of hearing my own voice!"

This was indeed true, Aunt Eunice didn't believe in empty flattery. Junko smiled a bit, but he sighed.

"It's just..." he faltered a bit, then said: "It's just that I'd still feel better, you know...if I actually was strong like you say I am."

Eunice was quite for a long time, then she stood.

"Come on," she said. "I want to show you something."

Curious, Junko got up and followed his aunt to another room. In the back, there was a shelf with a box on top of it. Junko had glimpsed this box several times in the past, but had never seen what was in it. Now, his aunt Eunice took the box down from the shelf.

"You know, Junko, I was actually a lot like you when I was your age." she said.

Junko blinked up at her in surprise.

"You...how?" he asked.

"I mean that I wasn't the strongest wallop in the world either when I was little." she smiled.

Junko gasped.

"But-But you're the toughest brawler ever!" he protested.

His aunt chuckled.

"That's true." she admitted. "But I had something to help me."

She opened the box and Junko saw, nestled inside, the two most beautiful things he'd ever seen in his life!

"Whooooaaaa..." he breathed.

Eunice grinned.

"These are knucklebusters." she said. "They've been in our family for generations."

Junko stared at the wondrous objects with awe. He reached out and gently brushed a hand on one of them, feeling the cool, silvery metal under his fingers.

"I want you to have them, Junko." Eunice announced.

Junko's gaze snapped up to meet hers.

"I want you to have them, and I want you to use them, and use them well."

He stared at her.

"You...you're giving these knucklebusters...to me?"

She nodded, holding out the box. In a trance, Junko gently, carefully pulled them out and put them on. He stared at his hands. They looked different with the busters on. He felt different too. He felt stronger, bigger, better. He slammed his fists together. The busters glowed with a beautiful, bright green light!

"This is amazing!" Junko beamed. "Thank you! Thank you, Aunt Eunice, thank you!"

He wrapped his hands around his aunt and hugged her tight!

"Whoa! Easy Junko!" his aunt said in a strained voice. "You're going to crush me if you hug me with those!"

Immediately, Junko released his aunt, apologizing profusely. And yet, he couldn't stop smiling. He just felt so happy! This was the beginning of a new life for him! No more bullies, no more torment, no more ridicule! He, Junko, was a new wallop, and wasn't ever going to be weak again!

* * *

Finn squinted at his target. This was an operation that required maximum precision. He pulled back the elastic band. His weapon was fully loaded. He aimed carefully for another second, and then let go! The little pebble flew through the air with a small Whoosh!

PINK!

"Ow!" Piper yelped as the pebble hit her high on her forehead.

"Oops!" Finn lowered the sling-shot. "Sorry Piper!"

The amber-eyed girl rubbed the spot where the pebble had struck and frowned at Finn. The apple perched on her head remained untouched.

"You okay?" Aerrow asked, standing as he was outside of Finn's line of fire.

"I'll be better once Finn stops missing." said the girl.

Then she saw Finn pull back once more, and closed her eyes, anticipating another sharp blow. Finn let go of the band, and this time, the pebble found its mark and knocked the apple off of Piper's head!

"Yes!" he whooped, pumping his fist in victory.

Piper opened one eye, then felt the top of her head. The apple had indeed been knocked off. She sighed in relief. Aerrow cheered.

"Nice shot, Finn!" he said, giving the blond a sky-five. "You're getting really good at this!"

Indeed he was. Finn's aim and skill with a sling-shot had much improved from the days where he would always strike them in the nose or the eye. 4 years had passed with golden tranquility on Terra Sparrow. With school, playtime and the occasional trip to other terras with Tempo, the lives of the inseparable quarto were rather happy and peaceful. And so, they started growing up. The three children had grown taller, and Aerrow now had some muscle to match his height. He wasn't as skinny as he used to be either, though he still had a wiry frame. Finn wasn't as tall as the redhead, but he was only a few inches shorter. Piper too had grown, and even quicker than the boys. She was now at eye-level with Finn, and with Aerrow if she stood on her tip-toes. Radarr hardly changed at all. He did get a little bigger during their first year on Sparrow, but then it seemed his growth spurts were over, for he hadn't gotten any bigger for the past few months. At least now, Aerrow could carry him on his back with more ease than before.

But there was more than height involved. As the four got older, their obsession with sky knights had increased. They now had small toy weapons to go with their playing, and they'd often spend hours just practicing with them with no game in mind. Aerrow had a small sword, though after a while, he got a second one, and had been using both of them ever since, Piper had a staff, and Finn a slingshot. A slingshot which had been the cause of several black eyes for the other two children for the past few days, and so Piper was not fond of this slingshot.

"I really don't like this game all that much." she said, walking over to join the two boys as they all sat in the grass.

"It's not a game, Piper," Aerrow pointed out. "It's practice. If we're going to be a sky knight squadron, Piper, we have to be ready to fight."

"A sky knight squadron," Finn sighed reverently. "We're going to be our very own sky knight squadron."

He shook his head.

"I still can't believe it!"

"I know, me too!" Aerrow nodded. "But you'll see. It'll happen, I know it!"

"There is an important thing we have to decide, though."

Piper looked over at the blond curiously.

"What's that, Finn?"

He stared at her as though the answer were obvious.

"What are we going to be called?! We need to have a really awesome name for our squadron! That's super important!"

Piper shook her head and Radarr rolled his eyes. Really? That was Finn's biggest concern? Their squadron name?

"I think there's something else we have to decide," said Aerrow, "but don't worry, Finn; we'll think of a name soon enough."

Finn huffed.

"Who's going to be the sky knight?" Aerrow asked.

"I think you should be, Aerrow." said Piper.

Aerrow stared at her.

"Me?"

She nodded.

"It was your idea in the first place, Aerrow. And you're kind of already the leader, at least to us."

Finn and Radarr nodded in agreement. Aerrow was speechless for several minutes.

"You really think so?" he finally asked, a small smile forming on his face.

His friends nodded.

"You'd be the best sky knight out of all of us." Finn admitted.

Aerrow's smile broadened.

"Thanks, you guys," he said.

* * *

Fire roared across the landscape, swallowing everything in its path. People screamed and ran as talon soldiers herded them back into the destruction. Aerrow was frightened, terrified. He heard a shriek and whirled around! It was Radarr! He ran to him, but the animal was grabbed by a talon and thrust into a cage!

"NO!" Aerrow cried.

Another scream. He saw Piper and Finn, running, reaching desperately, crying out for help. He practically threw himself at them, but there was a flash of light, and they disappeared! No! This couldn't be happening, it couldn't be! Then there was the roar of a skyride! He looked up, into a pair of evil, red eyes! He screamed and bolted upright, knocking Radarr off of him and almost falling out of bed!

"What the-" Finn sat up in the next bed. "What is it, Aerrow?"

Panting, Aerrow looked around. It was his room. He was in his room. And there was Finn, looking at him with worried eyes, and there was Radarr, climbing over the blankets towards him. It was a dream. It was just a dream. He was alright, everything was okay.

"Aerrow? Aerrow, dude, are you okay?"

Aerrow turned to Finn. The boy had gotten out of bed and was staring at him, very worried. Radarr crawled into Aerrow's lap, chittering softly. The red-haired boy wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"I…I'm alright."

"You sure?" Finn put a hand on his shoulder. "You sounded like you were having a nightmare."

Aerrow gave him a small smile, the corners trembling just a little.

"I was. It was just some memories of when-"

BOOM! CRASH!

The ground had started shaking!

"YAH!" Finn yelped. "What's happening?!"

Aerrow lept to his feet and ran to the window, Radarr on his heels. He gasped in horror at what he saw.

"…the cyclonians…" he murmured. "…attacking…"

In the distance, Aerrow could see the town surrounded by cyclonians! Their skyrides hovered over the blaze they were creating like vultures over a kill! Even from here, Aerrow could faintly smell the smoke, hear the screams, and feel the heat of the flames!

"COME ON!" he scooped up Radarr and ran!

They burst out of their room to find the others! Piper's door opened and she tumbled out, eyes wide and frightened.

"It's the cyclonians! What-What're we gonna do-"

"We gotta get out of here!" Aerrow cried. "We gotta run!"

"Where?!"

"Wait, where's Tempo?!" Finn looked about wildly for their guardian.

The front door burst open! The children whirled around. It was Tempo!

"Come on!" he beckoned.

His voice, normally so calm and steady, was frantic. They ran to him.

"Tempo, s-sir, what are we-"

"No time for talking," Tempo interrupted Aerrow and nudged him forward. "Just follow me! And quick!"

They did as they were told. Tempo hobbled on his cane as fast as he could, away from the attack. Behind them, Aerrow heard the crashing and clattering of buildings falling. He looked over his shoulder, and saw the talons blasting the town to cinders! They were destroying everything! Just like back home…And he was running away! Again! He had to do something!

"We have to help!" he cried out, but Tempo hurried him on.

"No time!"

"But all those people! We have to-"

"You have to survive, Aerrow! You must!"

Tempo pulled Aerrow along, but Aerrow looked back again. Everything…Everything was falling apart, and all he could do was watch helplessly while running away!

"Aerrow!"

Piper's voice. He turned, saw her. She reached out a hand. He grabbed it. She pulled him along and he ran with her and the others up, up the hill. There was the shed! Tempo opened the door. The skyride! It was still there!

"I don't think that ride and carry all of us!" Piper said.

But Tempo passed by the skyride without a second glance. He got to the corner of the shed and kneeled down. His fingers found something invisible to Aerrow's eyes, and he struggled to lift something. At last, he succeeded, and the grass and soil lifted up in a square-shaped panel. A trap door!

"Quick! Climb down! Now!" he urged.

They scrambled toward the door. Finn dropped down the small ladder first, and Piper hurried after him. Radarr jumped down into the hole, and Aerrow followed. Before he reached the bottom, though, he looked up at Tempo. The old man wasn't climbing down with him.

"Tempo, what-"

"Listen to me, Aerrow." Tempo cut him off. "You and the others will be safe down there, but you have to be quiet, and whatever you do, no matter you hear, don't come out. Do you hear me? No matter what, don't come out!"

Aerrow's eyes widened as he realised what Tempo was saying.

"Tempo, wait!"

He reached out, but it was too late! Tempo closed the door. Aerrow climbed the ladder pounded his fist on the panel, but it wouldn't budge!

"TEMPO! TEMPO NO! COME BACK!"

Aerrow pushed against the panel. It was stuck! He pushed harder, but it wouldn't give.

"Aerrow, he said not to go out!" Piper called from the bottom of the ladder.

"But we have to help him!" Aerrow braced his shoulder against the panel and pushed, but in vain. "We've got to help him! And all those people! We can't just let them-"

"Aerrow! We have to stay down here!"

"I can't let it happen again!" Aerrow was crying now, tears running over his cheeks, but he hardly noticed as he kept pounding at the door. "I can't run away again!"

He lost his footing. His grip slipped and he fell, almost pulling the ladder down with him, but he let go of it! Piper had tried to catch him, but she could only soften his landing a little. Aerrow got off of her.

"I can't let those cyclonians destroy my home again!"

He looked back up at the trapdoor, but there was nothing he could do. He was helpless to do anything to stop the invasion. There was nothing he could do…And that was the worst feeling in the world. Then, there was a blast from above them, and the terra shook violently. Afraid, Radarr leaped up into Aerrow's arms. He whimpered and trembled, and Aerrow wrapped his arms tightly around him.

"They're-They're going to destroy everything…"

Aerrow looked up. Finn was staring up at the ceiling of their hiding place. He was curled up into a ball, looking more terrified than anything Aerrow had ever seen. He edged closer to the boy, wanting to comfort him, when another tremor shook them. Finn let out a loud yelp or fright.

"They're gonna find us!"

"No, no, Finn, they're not." Aerrow scooted next to Finn, placing an arm around him. "They won't find us, Finn, we're…we're gonna be okay."

Finn looked at him with watery eyes and nodded, but he looked so unsure. Aerrow looked for Piper. She was huddled against the wall, tears running down her face in streams.

"Piper,"

Another blast! Another shake of their small shelter. Piper covered her ears with her hands, trying to block out the horrible sounds above them. She reminded Aerrow of himself, when his own terra was attacked. Both she and Finn had never experienced this before. They were terrified.

"Piper," Aerrow said softly.

She looked up at him. He held out a hand and she crawled over to him, grabbing his hand and clasping it tightly.

"I'm scared, Aerrow." she whimpered.

"I know," he said. "I'm scared too."

* * *

Aerrow had no idea how long the attack lasted. Had it been just a few hours? A day? It felt like weeks, down there in the dark of their shelter. At times, they'd heard the sounds of footsteps, and were afraid they'd been found. But the trapdoor remained shut. They huddled together for warmth, and perhaps comfort, though the latter was easier said than done, for the noises they heard were still terrible: the roar of fire and explosions, the zoom of passing skyrides, stampedes of running footsteps, muffled screams, splintering wood and crumbling stone. To the children, it sounded like the terra itself was being ripped apart.

Then, finally, after forever, the sounds from above quieted, and soon there was no sound at all but their own breathing.

"I…I think it's over." Finn whispered.

Aerrow looked at the trapdoor intently for several seconds. Nothing happened.

"I think you're right." he murmured.

"What do we do now?" Piper asked softly.

Aerrow turned to his friends. They were looking at him as though waiting for him to make a decision.

"I guess we go up." he said.

Cautiously, they stood and crept over to the ladder. Aerrow started climbing first, followed by Radarr. When he got to the trapdoor, he pushed against it as hard as he could. It didn't open, but he could feel it move, just a little. He tried again, and the door lifted a fraction of an inch.

'Come on, just one more push,'

Letting go of the ladder, he put both hands to the trapdoor and put all his weight against it. It gave way, and opened! Quickly grabbing hold of the ladder again with one hand, Aerrow flew the other up to cover his eyes as dirt, dust and ash rose from the trapdoor's sudden movement. He coughed and blinked through the dim light. The wooden walls of the cabin had been smashed in and were left barely standing. Aerrow crawled through a gap that had once been a door, and gasped with despair as he saw what was outside.

Terra Sparrow had been utterly destroyed. Where there were once rolling hills, there was an endless field of desolate grey. The Tall Forest had been turned into a graveyard of blackened trunks, still smoking like extinguished candles. In the distance, he could see the twisted ruin that the town had become. And their house…their perfect, tiny little house…Aerrow didn't even recognize it when he first laid eyes on it. It made him think of a broken eggshell, one that had been stamped on over and over, then ripped apart into millions of little pieces, and then been set on fire. Ash drifted slowly down from the clouds, like black snow. Aerrow could feel it land in his hair, on his clothes, on his hands, turning him as grey and dead as the landscape around him. And he felt it. He felt like his insides had been set on fire, and crushed, and ripped apart. Into millions of little pieces. His home was gone…again.

"No," Finn whimpered, breaking the spell of silence.

Aerrow abruptly turned at the sound of his friend's voice. He hadn't heard him come out of the broken cabin. Finn was staring around them at what had once been his home, and his eyes were a hauntingly familiar sight to Aerrow. They held the same shock, devastation and disbelief he knew he'd felt when his terra had been attacked.

"No, no," he shook his head, blinking furiously as tears started blossoming. "This…This can't be happening…This can't be real!"

"Finn…" Aerrow reached out slowly to his friend. "I'm sorry-"

"It can't!" Finn sobbed, turning frantically to Aerrow. "There's gotta something left! Something! Anything! Anyone! They couldn't have-They couldn't have gotten everyone!"

"Finn-" Aerrow tried again, but Finn cried out:

"Tempo! H-He gotta be here! He's always there!"

Then he ran off before Aerrow could say anything to stop him. He cupped his hands around his mouth a called out for their guardian:

"Tempo? Tempo where are you?! TEMPO!"

But Tempo was gone. Aerrow knew he was. There was no way he could've survived…this. Aerrow sniffed, and he could feel the water starting to run slowly down his cheeks.

"He's gone, Finn."

Finn whirled on Aerrow, fury mingling with the already-existing turmoil of emotions in his face.

"HE CAN'T BE GONE!"

Aerrow flinched.

"NO! HE CAN'T! I JUST GOTTA KEEP LOOKING FOR HIM! TEMPO!"

He tried to run but Aerrow caught up with him! Finn struggled, but Aerrow held him down and said loudly:

"Tempo's gone, Finn! There's no way he could've survived this! No one could've! Everything's gone!"

Finn sank to his knees, weeping, and he let out a howl of pain!

"NOOOOOO!"

Aerrow too felt like weeping.

"I'm sorry, Finn…I'm sorry."

The tears were pouring down his face now, but he couldn't stop them. Finn had his head buried in his hands.

"This was our home! Our HOME! And now it's all GONE! IT'S gone!"

He trailed off into sobs of despair. Aerrow couldn't blame him. He could barely speak himself. He'd thought that when he'd lost his home, it was the worst possible thing that ever could've happened to him. But this was worse. Much, much worse. Because he could've done something. Maybe he could've pulled Tempo in with them into the shelter. Maybe he could've fought some cyclonians off. Maybe he could've bought them some time. He could've something, anything! But he didn't! Instead, he hidden away and let this happen to all those innocent people…let this happen to Finn's home, his new home, Radarr's new home, Piper's new home. Wait…where were Radarr and Piper? Weren't they supposed to be right behind them? Where were they?!

"SCREE!"

Aerrow was almost knocked over by his co-pilot, and happiness temporarily pushed back the despair. Radarr nuzzled his cheek, his little nose feeling so comfortable and familiar, and Aerrow wanted to cry from relief. He also heard footsteps and turned to see Piper running towards them. Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were red, as though she'd already been crying a lot.

"I-Is he okay?" she asked, kneeling beside the two boys, her voice catching.

She wiped her eyes, but it did little good. Aerrow looked at Finn. He was still crying, more softly now, but it was clear that he wasn't okay.

"What happened?" he asked instead. "Why didn't you catch up with us?"

Piper bit her lip; fresh tears were already glimmering in her orange eyes.

"W-When I got out of the cabin," she whimpered, "it looked…it looked just like my home when…"

She couldn't finish. Aerrow took her hand. She clasped it tightly, so much that her own hands trembled lightly.

"It's...It's going to be okay, Piper," Aerrow said, trying to sound reassuring, though his voice shook like a leaf. "We'll be okay."

"How?" Piper choked out. "How can we be okay after this?"

Aerrow lowered his head, biting his lip to stifle a sob. He didn't know how to answer that question. How were they going to be okay? How could anyone be okay after this?! How could anything be okay?

"What's going to happen to us?" Finn finally asked.

Two big, fat tears plopped down into Aerrow's lap.

"I don't know..." he confessed, burying his face in his arm. "I don't...know..."

They sat there, crying, for what seemed like hours. Radarr howled mournfully, though for what, Aerrow couldn't be sure. For the ones who'd been killed in the attack? For Tempo? For their lost home? For them? Probably all of the above.

A noise finally pierced the aura of sorrow that had settled on the children. It was so faint Aerrow thought he was dreaming it. But it was there, real and true, and it was getting louder. The familiar hum of a skyride! No, several skyrides! They were coming closer! He looked up, and four skyrides landed not 50 meters away. He could just see the riders even through the raining ash and his tears: sky knights!

"Check to see if they're any survivors!"

"I don't know, this terra seems pretty dead. This attack was ruthless. I don't think any civilians could've stood a chance."

"Wait! Look, over there! OVER THERE! There're three kids right there! And some small animal! Right there!"

"Survivors!"

"Well, don't just stand here, let's go!"

The four figures ran over to them and knelt around them. Aerrow could feel powerful arms lifting him up as the adults carry them to their skyrides.

"They look pretty shaken, but not hurt."

"What happened here, was it cyclonians?"

Aerrow could just barely nod.

"We should try to find their families." said a female voice. "Where're your parents, little ones?"

"We're...We're orphans." he said.

He felt so small now, so weak, like he couldn't do anything except cry.

"Damn those cyclonians!" one of the adults cursed.

"What are we gonna do with them?" asked the female voice. "We can't just leave them!"

"Hey, didn't we pass an orphanage not so long ago?" said the first voice, who seemed to be the leader.

"Yeah, there's supposed to be one not far from here. It's pretty close to where I found you all. But if only I'd gone sooner, I might've-"

"We can't dwell on ifs. Don't worry; we'll avenge your squadron, my friend. But first, let's get these kids to a safe place."

"What about their little pet? Does he come-OW! Geez! He just bit me!"

"He's not a pet." Aerrow heard Finn correct. "He's a friend, just an animal. And he's the only family we've got."

Aerrow saw Radarr crawl up the leg of the man carrying him, and he cuddled him to his chest as he got to Aerrow's lap.

"I guess he comes with us too." the leader said. "Alright, let's go."

They started to walk away. Aerrow blinked up at the sky knight holding him.

"Don't worry, kiddo, you and your friends are gonna be alright. You're all gonna be okay from now on."


	8. Chapter 8

The sky knights brought them to a small terra occupied primarily by a single building. It had taken hours to fly there, so it was dark by the time they arrived, and the children were exhausted. Aerrow's eyes felt heavy, and he was so tired that he'd nearly fallen asleep on the ride. But he awoke when the lulling vibration of the skimmer was cut off and the rude came to a landing.

The door to the orphanage had opened and a kindly-looking woman stepped out to greet the sky knights and, when she spotted the children, hurry them inside. She asked them what had happened and, this time, he felt strong enough to summarize the full story. After he was done, the woman led them to a room at the other end of the orphanage. It was lined with beds and small dressers, and the kindly woman told them to get some rest. They fell asleep quickly, but not for very long. The attack on Terra Sparrow, the rumbling and the fear and the death of Tempo, was still too raw, too fresh in their minds. So suffice it to say that none of them got a lot of rest that night.

* * *

Aerrow watched the thin line of early sunlight slowly make its way across the floor. He'd been awake for hours, and only now was the sun starting to show its face; or at least what little of it Aerrow could see through the small gap between two of the shutters. He had a feeling the others were awake too, especially Radarr, who often twitched or rolled around in his sleep, but had been unusually still for some time. Aerrow wondered whether or not he should say something to the others. But what could he say? They'd all just survived a cyclonian attack that had destroyed their home and killed their guardian. What could he say? What could any of them say?

Just as the ray of sun brushed the foot of Aerrow's bed, the door to the room opened. Aerrow sat up and, turning his head to the sound of shifting blankets, saw Piper and Finn do the same. They definitely looked like they'd been awake for a while. Radarr too sat up from where he'd previously been curled up in Aerrow's lap. The four shared a quick, but reassuring, glance before turning to the opened door. It was the woman who'd let them in the night before.

"Good morning," she smiled beatifically at them and went to pull back the shutters. "You all sleep well?"

They hadn't, but they nodded anyway, blinking like moles in the sudden glare. Now that there was enough light to properly see by, the kids were able to get a proper look at the woman. Her short honey-brown hair fell to her chin, she wore a patched grey turtleneck and dark blue pants, and her soft blue eyes twinkled with a sort of motherly affection when she looked at them. But when she looked at them, the children could see another feature: a vicious-looking red scar that slashed across her left cheek, from just beneath her eye to her chin, nicking the corner of her mouth as it went. It looked like it had once been a nasty wound, and so starkly contrasted with her gentle, kind appearance. They couldn't help but stare. She noticed what they were looking at and chuckled.

"You're wondering about the scar, aren't you?" she asked.

Aerrow couldn't help but duck his chin a little, but the woman didn't seem surprised, offended or annoyed.

"It's alright. Every new child asks about it. Even those who've been here a long time."

"How did you get it?" Aerrow asked. "And who are you?"

"Yeah," Finn agreed. "And what is this place? Did you say something about other kids?"

The woman went to a large cabinet in one corner of the room, opened the doors and pulled out a small pile of clothes. They were all patched and in varying shades of brown, grey and blue, but they looked comfortable. They were also clean, and in much better condition than their own clothes. Aerrow looked down at himself and noticed, for the first time, that his pyjamas, which he'd been wearing for the past couple of hours, were very dirty. The pant legs were spotted with dirt from their run to the cabin, and they were almost entirely covered in ash, which had rubbed off onto the bedsheets.

"This place," the woman said as she set some of the clothes down on their beds, a shirt and pair of pants for each, "is an orphanage. And yes, there are other kids here, ones who lost their parents, just like you. Most of them in cyclonian attacks."

She said "cyclonian" like the word was a bitter taste in her mouth but she was trying not to show it. Aerrow understood the feeling.

"My name's Teal. I'm the head of the orphanage, so I'm the one who'll mostly be taking care of you. And as for the scar," Teal traced the reddish-skin of the scar to show them, "I got it in a fight with some talons when they invaded my friend's home terra. You'll meet her later and she can tell you the full story. Now," she stood, "you should all get washed and dressed. Then we'll head to the cafeteria and you can get some breakfast."

Teal pointed to a second door opposite of the windows.

"The bathroom's over there in case any of you want to wash off all that ash."

Her gaze landed for a moment on the leftover grey smears on their sheets, and then she stepped outside.

"I'll be right here if you need me." she said before closing the door.

The three were all quiet for several moments. Then, Aerrow cleared his throat.

"She seems nice." he said.

Radarr shrugged and Finn nodded slowly at him.

"Yeah, I guess. What do you think, Piper?"

They all turned to her, but Piper wasn't looking at them. Aerrow immediately felt concerned.

"Piper?"

Her gaze didn't lift.

"I...I don't know what to think." she said softly. "We...We just got our home destroyed. This...this is the second time it's happened to me, I..."

She broke off, seemingly too upset to go on. Aerrow got up and sat next to her on her bed. He put an arm around her as she leaned against him.

"What are we gonna do? Where are we gonna go?" she asked.

Aerrow didn't know how to answer. Their dream of becoming sky knights suddenly seemed further away than before. It seemed so out of their reach. Could they still achieve it, even after losing their home? Again, in his and Piper's cases? They couldn't just stay here, in this unfamiliar place where children were waiting to be adopted. That wasn't what they were looking for. They couldn't stay...could they?

"Go?" Finn's confused tone made them look at him. "Piper, we don't have anywhere to go. And besides, this place doesn't seem so bad. Maybe we could stay here. At least for a little while." he said, but he sounded as unsure as Aerrow felt.

He hesitated, then finally turned to Piper.

"Finn does have a point." he said as she dropped her gaze again. "Maybe...maybe we can stay for a little bit."

"I know," she said faintly. "But still...what if...what if...?"

She trailed off, but she didn't need to say any more. Aerrow, Finn and Radarr all knew what she was thinking. What if the cyclonians would attack this place too? Just like what they did to Terra Sparrow? Aerrow shivered. The faint sounds of screaming briefly echoed in his ears before he shook the memory away. He looked at Piper. She appeared to be on the edge of tears, her orange eyes clouded. She must've thinking about her own terra, he realized, about how it was destroyed by cyclonians just like Terra Sparrow.

"Piper," he said gently.

She looked up at him, blinking rapidly.

"They're not going to get this terra. The cyclonians won't attack this one too. I promise."

She wiped her eyes.

"How can you make a promise like that?" she asked.

Finn agreed.

"Yeah, Aerrow, like what's gonna stop them?"

The redhead looked at his friends, at their worried expressions and fearful eyes. He knew why they were afraid, and though he didn't want to admit it, he was too. He had seen everything they had, and still felt the same helpless melancholy of Tempo's death. He knew perfectly well that all four of them had great reason to fear and worry. But there was something else he knew: they still had hope. So despite it all, he smiled at them.

"We are." he said simply.

Finn and Piper stared. Even Radarr let out a small squawk of surprise.

"Us?" sputtered Finn. "What, we're gonna fight them back?"

"Exactly." Aerrow replied. "We're going to be a sky knight squadron, remember? We're going to stop the cyclonians!"

"But how, Aerrow? Look at us: we're just kids." Piper gestured helplessly to the four of them.

How could they, three orphans and one small sky-monkey-thing fight against an empire like Cyclonia? It seemed as hopeless and foolish a task to Piper as trying to find her parents all those years ago, when she left her terra...left her terra to be destroyed. But Aerrow's determination didn't waver. There wasn't a single spark of doubt in his eyes.

"Piper," he said, and his voice was strong, yet gentle, "you had your home attacked by cyclonians when you were little, right?"

Piper looked away, eyes beginning to water from the painful memory. Aerrow put a hand on her shoulder, making her look back up at him.

"It was horrible, I know, but you survived." he said as a smile blossomed on his face. "You lived through that attack, and look at you now!" he gestured to her as though she was some kind of miracle.

Then he reached out to Radarr and scratched him gently between his ears.

"Radarr and I were stuck as prisoners on our home terra when it was conquered by cyclonians. But we escaped." Aerrow turned to Finn. "And Finn, your terra was just attacked, but you survived it too."

The others were now gazing at him with growing awe as he stood between them.

"We all made it out, even when the cyclonians took everything from us, we still made it. And we're going to keep making it." he said. "They took away our families and our homes, but we're going to make sure it never happens again, to us or to anyone else."

He now turned to Piper, who was wiping away the few tears that had managed to leak out.

"That's why they're not going to take this terra," he said, more softly than before, but with no less fire and passion than when he'd first spoken, "because we're going to stop them."

To Aerrow's surprise, just as he finished talking, Finn started clapping. As he looked confusedly at the blond, Radarr joined in, as did Piper.

"Nice speech!" said Finn. "Could use a little work, of course, but good!"

"I think it was perfect." said Piper.

Aerrow blushed.

"That wasn't a speech." he mumbled, but Finn wouldn't hear of it.

"'Course it was!" he said, patting Aerrow on the back. "But you're right Aerrow. We can't let those cyclonians get to us. We'll fight them back, and we'll avenge Tempo, and we'll be the greatest sky knight squadron in the Atmos!" he struck a heroic pose which made them all laugh.

"You really think we can do it?" Piper asked Aerrow, but this time, as he looked in her eyes, he saw that glimmer of hope that made them sparkle, and he felt his own hope grow.

She still sounded a bit unsure, but not scared. She still believed in them. Aerrow grinned at her.

"I know we can." he said. "If we stick together-"

"-those cyclonians don't stand a chance!" Finn finished for him.

A loud knock at the door interrupted the small celebration.

"Are you all done getting changed?" Teal's muffled voice said from the other side.

The children winced.

"Uh, n-not yet!" Aerrow said loudly.

He glanced at the others.

"Maybe we should get dressed now." he said, to which they all nodded.

"I'll use the bathroom." said Piper, gathering up her own bundle of fresh clothes and disappearing in the other room.

Once the door was closed, the boys started changing. Radarr looked at the clothes, but there weren't any small enough for him. Aerrow shrugged apologetically to his friend. He'd have to stay in his own ash-stained, dirty PJs for now. Then, a though hit him.

"Hey, Finn," he said hesitantly, "do you think we could've saved Tempo if we'd been a sky knight squadron?"

Now it was Finn's turn to hesitate. He looked uncertain, and Aerrow felt his hope dwindle for a moment.

"Maybe," said Finn, then he smiled, and Aerrow's hope burned brighter. "I think so."

Aerrow smiled. He hadn't realized until then how much he'd needed to hear that. To hear some confirmation that it wasn't a foolish pipe dream. To hear that if he succeeded, he could maybe, just maybe, help someone else keep what he'd lost.

"Thanks Finn," he said.

Finn smiled back at him. Radarr chirped happily and licked Aerrow's cheek, earning a laugh from his boy. He turned to the bathroom door.

"You ready, Piper?" he asked.

He felt a small twinge of guilt he hadn't thought to ask her about saving Tempo, and for a moment, he was worried that she'd heard and been upset that he hadn't included her. But when she answered, she sounded almost happy:

"Yeah, I'm ready."

Aerrow grinned as Piper opened the door. But when he and Finn saw her, their mouths opened. They stared at their friend in surprise. Piper's cobalt blue hair, normally in pigtails, was standing straight up on her head like it had been electrified. Piper looked at them curiously.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Your...um..." Aerrow found himself suddenly struggling to make his vocal cords work.

Finn had less trouble with his.

"Your hair," he said, pointing.

"Huh?" Piper then saw where Finn was pointing. "Oh! Right. My hair. It's always stuck up like this." she shrugged self-consciously. "The only way I could keep it down was with ponytails but...now I don't have any hair ties for ponytails, and now it's...well..."

Her cheeks went a little pink as she rubbed her arm, as though embarrassed. Aerrow wanted to say something, maybe to try to make her feel better, but she shook her head before he could try.

"It's not important anyway, just a bit annoying, that's all." she said, tucking a renegade strand of hair behind her ear, then blowing a lock from her bangs out of her eyes.

Aerrow finally found his voice.

"Aren't there any hair ties in the bathroom?"

She shook her head.

"No, just this headband." she said, holding out her hand.

In her palm, there was a circlet of bright orange fabric. It was completely intact, not stitched or patched, and looked almost new. Aerrow saw that it almost matched Piper's own amber eyes.

"Why don't you try it on?" he suggested.

Piper looked at him, then at the headband. Then she put it on her head, pulling back some of her hair and tucking it neatly into place, all except for her bangs.

"So? What do you think?" she asked.

Finn tilted his head as he studied her.

"Well," he said, "it's not making your hair go down, but it's nice."

Aerrow nodded. The headband pushed Piper's hair back from her face, leaving it framed by her bangs. The bright orange nicely contrasted her own hair colour too.

"It is nice. It brings out your eyes."

Piper smiled at the approval.

"Thanks guys."

At that, the door to the room opened and Teal's head peeked in.

"All ready?" she asked, to which they nodded. "Good, now you must be hungry. But before breakfast, I'd like to introduce you to the other orphans."

Aerrow and Piper glanced at each other. Other orphans? Well, of course, this was an orphanage, so surely there would be other kids here. But they hadn't given it much thought, nor did they feel very prepared. Still they followed Teal out of the room and into a hallway. As they walked, Aerrow was able to see that the walls were decorated with framed drawings, probably from the other kids. He hadn't noticed them the night before. Some of the drawings looked like portraits, while the rest were drawings of terras, birds in flight, flowers, skyrides, and more. All were very light-hearted, except for one that caught Aerrow's eye: it was very scribbled and messy, but Aerrow could recognize a talon. In the drawing, the talon was on fire, and there was another figure holding a blazer crystal in its hand. The figure also had flames in its eyes, and there was a ripped cyclonian flag at its feet.

Teal noticed where Aerrow was staring and chuckled nervously.

"That's Fulmar's drawing." she said, pointing at it. "He had a lot of...issues he needed to work through, so he did it through drawing. He's adopted now, by the way, so you won't be meeting him."

"Did it work?" Aerrow asked her. "The drawing?"

Teal shrugged.

"Last I heard from him, he's not as angry as he used to be, but he still wants to burn the first cyclonian he meets. Can't exactly blame him, though."

She pulled him along and before long, they reached a door. Teal smiled at them and pushed it open. They entered a fairly large room with big windows opening up to welcome the daylight. Smells of cooking came from a corner of the room where a young woman was preparing plates of bacon, eggs, skyberries and toast. The main area was occupied by a dozen tables, at each of which sat two or three children. The other orphans.

The cafeteria was unlike anything Aerrow had pictured. Though the room was big and inviting with the light of the windows, it was smaller than he'd imagined it would be. The tables were all different shapes and materials, and the chairs placed around them were all mismatched. Brightly coloured plastic chairs sat next to metal stools, and there was even a beanbag at one table next to a wooden chair that looked rather worse for wear. The lack of uniformity had a childish, but strangely welcoming feeling. It reminded Aerrow vividly of their classroom back on Terra Sparrow.

This atmosphere of innocence and childhood happiness and warmth was brought to a shaky halt when he realized that all the children in the room looked injured in some way. One child, a carrot-haired girl with big green eyes, was missing two fingers on her right hand. A bald, blue-eyed boy sat in a wheelchair, next to a purple-haired girl with scar marks all over her face and arms. Two boys that looked like twins each had a wooden foot, and there was even a kid, whose age and gender they couldn't tell, who was missing an arm. The orphans looked up as they entered the room, and there was something so terribly sad about seeing all of these injured kids that Aerrow felt a pang in his chest. But the kids smiled as they spotted the woman with them.

"Good morning miss Teal!" they called out.

Teal grinned.

"Morning everyone!" she beamed at the room, waving to the woman in the back who smiled back at her. "Now, listen: before we all eat, I have a bit of an announcement to make."

Some of the orphans glanced at Aerrow and the others, and Aerrow awkwardly shifted his feet under the attention. Piper, seeing his discomfort, put a hand on his shoulder, and Aerrow felt a little better. Teal continued:

"We have three new," Radarr interrupted her with an annoyed growl and an indignant look.

Teal blinked, then chuckled.

"Sorry," she said, "four new guests who will be staying with us. They're from Terra Sparrow, which has just fallen to a cyclonian raid."

A small ripple of whispers ran through the room, before the woman in the back cleared her throat and, at her disapproving look, the orphans quieted down again.

"Now, they might not look it to you, but these four have been through some hard times, so I hope you treat them with the same respect you have with each other."

As Teal finished speaking, she ushered Aerrow, Piper and Finn to one of the tables, and the dark-haired woman brought out the plates of breakfast. As they ate, the orphans at their table introduced themselves.

"I lost my parents in a cyclonian raid." said the carrot-haired girl they'd spotted before, the one with the missing fingers. "I was two when it happened."

"Do you remember it?" Piper asked.

She shook her head.

"No, but I have a souvenir from it." she indicated her right hand, waggling the three fingers.

Piper winced.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." said a voice, and they all turned to the table behind them.

The bald boy in the wheelchair was the one who'd spoken, and he smiled at them.

"Most of us have been orphans for a while, and a lot of us can't remember our old families. As for the injuries, we've gotten used to them."

He rolled back his wheelchair a little to demonstrate.

"I've had this since last year, and I'm still working out the kicks."

Then the purple-haired girl beside him tapped him on the shoulder. He smiled at her.

"Plover lost her voice when her parents were killed, but we can still understand her, even though she sucks at sign language."

The girl, Plover, glared at the boy and punched his arm lightly, earning a wave of laughter and giggles from the others.

"At least, I can understand her." he said.

Aerrow didn't laugh with the others, because in the back of his mind, he was horrified at what had happened to Plover and all the other orphans. It made him want to punch the next cyclonian he saw. How could they do this to so many innocent children? He frowned down at his plate. Those villains had so much to answer for.

* * *

Several days later, Aerrow, Finn and Piper sat in the shade of a tree together, watching as the other orphans chased each other across the grass. Radarr was with them too, since class had been let out, and he was sitting contentedly beside his boy. In the midst of their silence, Finn let out a loud sigh. Aerrow looked over to the blond in concern, and Piper closed the book she'd been reading. Their friend looked deeply troubled and had been very quiet for the past few days, since they'd arrived here. Normally this would've been a blessing, especially for Piper, but this was different. Finn was too quiet, and not acting like his usual self. He hadn't even tried flirting with the other girls at the orphanage, which was especially troubling. It worried them.

"Finn? What's the matter?" Aerrow asked.

Finn glanced up, but waved away the concern.

"Oh, it's...it's nothing guys."

Aerrow frowned.

"Finn, something's wrong." he said. "Please tell us."

"Seriously, it's not a big deal, I'm fine."

"Finn, please," said Piper. "We're worried about you. You know you can tell us anything."

Finn hesitated, then spoke:

"Well...you see..." he began.

The other three nodded. Finn sighed again.

"It's this terra. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's nice and all, but it doesn't...I don't know, it doesn't feel like..."

"Home?" Aerrow prompted.

The blond nodded.

"Yeah," he said sadly.

Aerrow and Piper looked at each other. They knew exactly what their friend meant, for they felt the same way as Finn did. Much as the orphanage was a nice place, Piper couldn't bring herself to feel truly at ease there. And no matter how friendly the other kids were, no matter how sympathetic they were, and no matter how motherly affectionate Teal and her partner were, Aerrow didn't feel the same family-like connection, the same bond, he felt with Radarr, Piper, Finn and Tempo. No matter what, this place wasn't home.

Radarr also didn't feel all that comfortable with all these strangers. Plus, like in school on Terra Sparrow, he wasn't allowed to accompany his friends during class time, for the orphanage also doubled as a school. While Radarr had never been a fan of this arrangement, he disliked it even more here, since it meant he was forced to stay cooped up in Finn and Aerrow's room (they had been moved into proper dorm rooms) rather than have free reign in the whole building. Plus, the idea of leaving his boy alone after what they'd all been through left a sour taste in his mouth.

"I mean," Finn continued, "ever since we got here, I've been telling myself 'Okay Finn, you've just lost your home terra, but no worries. This can be your new home now.' But the thing is," he shook his head, "it's not."

Piper nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," she said. "Finding a new home isn't as easy as it sounds."

Aerrow and Radarr agreed. After all, they had experienced the same thing. Finn looked at his friends, and he suddenly seemed very small and vulnerable.

"Was it scary?" he asked, a little suddenly. "When you became drifters, I mean? To just leave and never go back? To just head out there with no plan or any idea of where you were going or what you were gonna do?"

Aerrow had to think about it. It had been so long since that day when he'd fled his terra. Plus, it wasn't as though he and Radarr had much of a choice. It was either leave, or stay prisoner. This was much different. There was nothing forcing them to leave, nothing to flee from. If they left, and it seemed the idea had occurred to Finn, it was entirely from their own choice.

"It was scary." he said, finally answering Finn's question. "But are you sure this is what you want, Finn? Do you want to run away?"

Finn looked suddenly unsure.

"I don't know." he said. "I mean, I've never been on my own before. I don't know if I'd make it."

Aerrow placed a reassuring hand on the blond's shoulder.

"But you won't be alone, remember?" he said. "You'll have us. We're family now, Finn. We're not gonna leave each other behind."

"That's right." said Piper, scooting closer. "Plus, let's face it: you'd never make it on your own."

Finn frowned indignantly at her.

"I think I very much could!" he said.

Piper rolled her eyes.

"Sure," she said, voice heavy with sarcasm. "Just like how you could very much get a date."

Finn scoffed.

"Yeah, right. More like how you could very much get one of your crystal experiments to work!"

Piper glared at him.

"I'll have you know-"

"Okay!" Aerrow, assuming his designated role as the peace maker, placed himself between the two bickerers. "That's enough guys! No more fighting! There's no time for that now!"

Piper nodded.

"I agree." she said. "We need to start figuring out how we're gonna leave."

She turned to Finn.

"That is the idea, right?" she asked. "That we're leaving this terra?"

Finn turned to Aerrow.

"If it's what the leader decides." he said.

Aerrow smiled a bit shyly. Leader. They still thought of him as leader. He was touched. He nodded.

"Yes," he said to Piper. "We are leaving. We need to find a home, a real home, somewhere else."

She grinned.

"Good," she said. "Because I have a plan."


	9. Chapter 9

It was very dark when the four carried out their "escape" plan. At around midnight, the window to the boys' dorm creaked open, and Radarr scurried out. Aerrow followed him, squeezing his wiry frame through the opening before reaching in to grab two small backpacks. These contained as much food as he, Finn and Radarr could sneak out of the cafeteria, which he still felt a pang of guilt about, and some spare clothes. When Finn wriggled his way out and closed the window, the boys made a dash for the other side of the building, where they knew that Teal and her partner kept the skybikes. When they arrived, Piper was already there, picking the lock of one skybike with a pin. Aerrow had no idea where Piper had learned to do that, but there would be time to ask about it later. The lock clicked open just as they reached her, and without question, Aerrow moved the bike off the grass and onto the dirt path, away from where the bikes were all penned.

"Wait!" Piper whispered, just as she'd started picking the lock on a second skybike. "There's something else I have to do. Be right back!" she handed Finn the pin and set down her own backpack, filled with a few books and toiletries as well as food and clothing, before running back inside the orphanage.

Finn glared disbelievingly at their friend as she disappeared inside.

"What is she doing?!" he whisper-shouted. "Why is she going back in?! This was her idea in the first place!"

Aerrow was about to answer when Piper slipped outside again and rushed up to them.

"Sorry," she said, taking the pin once more and jiggling it hurriedly inside the lock. "I wanted to leave behind a note explaining why we were gone. So they wouldn't worry about us or waste time searching for us."

"Good idea!" Aerrow whispered. "I hadn't thought about that!"

The second lock clicked open, and then they were moving the second skybike out to rest with the other one.

"Just two will be enough." said Aerrow. "Piper can ride with me and Radarr, you ride with Finn. Make sure he doesn't crash anything." he grinned.

Finn rolled his eyes, but also couldn't help but smile at the memory of his first time on a skyride. Both boys mounted the bikes, Radarr hopping up behind Finn, and Aerrow turned to Piper. For some inexplicable reason, she hesitated, and it seemed to Aerrow that her cheeks looked a little pink, though it was hard to tell in the dim moonlight. But she climbed onto the bike behind him. Peddling as fast as they could, they took off, and as they soared up, Aerrow felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. As they flew, he felt himself smiling uncontrollably, his heart seemed to swell, and yet he felt so light, so...free. Yes, that was it. That was the feeling he had as they headed out into the vast, open night sky, which suddenly looked more welcoming and beautiful than it ever had. They were free.

...

After a few hours of blissful flight, the quarto were passing over Terra Sparrow. It was very far away, but they were almost certain that it was their former home. Wondering if the terra had recovered yet from the attack, Aerrow pondered going down there, as a sort of "last goodbye" to the place that had brought them so much joy. But one look at Finn's expression made it clear that the sight of his home would be too painful, so they moved on, heading north, each day getting closer to the border between cyclonian skies and the free Atmos.

It was actually a mostly pleasant time for our heroes. Though it was hard to find places to rest and sleep for the four of them, they managed to find shelter in caves, abandoned houses, even spending one night in a tree. Piper missed her tent from the time she was a drifter, though, as well as her bigger-on-the-inside-than-on-the-outside bag (she'd dropped the name "botitoto bag" because it made Finn laugh so hard he'd nearly peed himself). Aerrow had to admit he missed that bag too, but reconciled himself with the fact that since they had less stuff, what they had became more important and more useful, each possession becoming a small treasure they kept preciously.

As they traveled, though, it became obvious to the four that they didn't just need places to sleep, but also food. They mostly solved the problem by taking on small jobs at whatever terra they stopped at, staying for a few days until they had enough to buy some extra provisions before heading off again. Occasionally, they'd have enough money to buy new clothes, for the three children were approaching twelve years old and still had some growing to do. Aerrow's old shirt was a little tight across his chest, and Finn often complained that his pants could barely stay on his hips. Piper's shirt had begun to get too short, and Aerrow noticed how she often pulled down the hem to cover her waist, and then blush with embarrassment when she caught him looking. Even Radarr's outfit was ill-fitting. So the new clothes were a welcome change, and Piper had even sewn a new outfit for Radarr thanks to some extra fabric lying in a "lost and found" box they'd encountered (what the fabric used to be, Aerrow didn't have a clue).

All in all, being drifters was not unpleasant. Aerrow liked waking up to a new view every day, and he loved flying and spending hours in the sky. He'd come to accept the infrequent food and the less-than-perfect rest stops. However, it wasn't quite as fun as Aerrow remembered from before. Before he and Piper had met, and before they'd found a home on Terra Sparrow. But that had all happened now, and Aerrow missed the feeling of having a home, the feeling of being in a place where you knew you were safe and loved. He was torn. His wanderlust wanted to keep drifting forever, but in his heart, he wanted to have a home again. Not just for himself, but for the others too.

...

"Aagh, my butt!" Finn groaned.

Aerrow, lying exhausted on the ground, cracked open an eye at the sound, and sat up when he saw the blond boy rubbing his rear end with a pained expression.

"Everything okay, Finn?" he asked, worried for the boy.

Radarr too looked up, his cheeks stuffed with some of the apple he'd been snacking on.

"My butt's sore from flying all day." said Finn, arching his back and wincing at the sound of cracking vertebrae. "I don't think I'll be able to ride that skybike for a month!"

"Don't you think that's a bit of an exageration?" Piper asked.

She was still seated on one of the skybikes, rubbing the back of her neck and twisting the soreness from it. She looked tired, as they all did. Finn frowned at her.

"Well, I'm still not gonna be able to sit normally for a week." he said, settling on the grass beside Aerrow and indeed wincing as his aching rump touched the ground.

Aerrow patted Finn's shoulder in sympathy. They'd been flying all day since the crack of dawn, but hadn't spotted anything, not so much as a speck of land. The sun had started setting by the time they'd finally encountered an inhabited terra. They'd stopped there only long enough to replenish their dwindling supplies, since they were a bit uncomfortable with the idea of staying on such a populated space, for the terra had been bustling with inhabitants. So, they'd moved on and found, barely an hour later, a deserted terra where they'd finally landed. This place was bare of people, but had plenty of bushes and a tall, elegant tree under which they now rested. A dirt path led from this tree to the other side of the terra. Night was swiftly falling, and they were all bone-tired.

"Don't worry, Finn." Aerrow told his friend, "we'll stay here longer so we all feel better before taking off again."

The blond gave a nod.

"Yeah, okay," he said, reaching now to rub his butt again as Piper slowly dismounted her skybike with an expression of relief and came to sit with them. "Aw, man, my butt REALLY hurts! I think I got blisters."

"Don't look at me, I'm not checking." Piper sat beside the boys and Radarr joined them. "Anyway, us staying here should give me enough time to update my map."

Piper had begun making a map since their departure from the orphanage, marking the progress of their journey every day, and the sheet of paper was now almost covered with her careful drawing. Aerrow and Finn were impressed by it, and would often watch as their friend worked on it.

"Good idea," Aerrow commented as Piper pulled her backpack closer and pulled out the map and a pencil. "And maybe we could visit that terra a few more times. I think we have enough money to buy ourselves a tent."

"Finally!" Finn sighed. "I'd give anything for a decent place to sleep! Why not get some blankets too? It's starting to get colder."

"Well, it is fall, Finn." Piper pointed out as her pencil darted over the map.

Aerrow blinked in surprise.

"It is?" he asked. "Already?"

Piper looked up from her handiwork. She nodded.

"Wow," the boy breathed.

They'd left the orphanage in late spring, and now it was fall. They'd been travelling for almost half a year now.

"I think I'll go check out the rest of the terra." he said, finally getting to his feet.

Finn raised an eyebrow.

"It's not a whole lot of terra." he said.

Indeed, this terra wasn't an overly large one.

"I know," Aerrow said, already heading for the path. "But I just want to walk for a bit. Maybe see where this leads."

He turned and started walking. Behind him, Finn shrugged and Piper went back to her map. Radarr, however, dropped the remains of his apple and ran to join Aerrow. The boy stopped when he realized his friend had followed him and waited to let the animal climb onto his back. It was getting much easier to carry him. Despite having grown over the half-year of travel, Aerrow had grown too, and faster than his co-pilot.

'Half a year...'

He still found it a little hard to believe they'd been drifting for so long. Time had passed so swiftly, it seemed to have flown by. He sighed, and Radarr chirruped in concern.

"It's nothing, buddy." he said. "It's just...can you believe we've been drifting for half a whole year already?"

Radarr shook his head. Obviously he found it hard to grasp as well.

"I mean, wow." the redhead continued. "It seems like only yesterday that we were at the orphanage. And now we're so far away. I'm not sure I like that."

Radarr screeched. He sounded confused. At least, that's what Aerrow guessed.

"I mean, look at everything that's happened to us, Radarr." Aerrow explained. "And not just you and me, all of us."

They'd reached an incline by now, and were walking slightly upwards. Aerrow turned and looked down to where his friends were, the rise of the terra giving him a good vantage point. They looked to be making dinner...or rather, trying to. In fact, if Aerrow had to hazard a guess, he'd say they were probably arguing over something again. He couldn't help but smile at the thought. Those two were like brother and sister, always getting under each other's skin. He knew he'd have to be the one to sort it out. But Radarr wasn't paying much attention to their friends below. Instead, he looked behind and saw a tree. Not just any tree, however: it was a gigantic willow, with branches that hung down like the world's hugest umbrella. Now, the tree itself wasn't any surprise: he'd caught sight of it as they'd come in for a landing, and he was hoping Aerrow might let him climb it. But as he looked up at the green foliage, something caught his eye. He squinted, growling lightly as he looked. After a moment, he turned and screeched at Aerrow. Aerrow winced a little at the volume so close to his ear, but looked questioningly at his friend.

"What is it bud?" he asked as Radarr pointed frantically at what he'd seen.

Aerrow looked to where Radarr was pointed and his eyebrows lifted in surprise. He ran toward the willow, reaching the trunk and staring up as Radarr clambered from his shoulder to the tree, then scurrying up the trunk. It was a little difficult since there were no smaller branches to jump to, but his sharp little claws did the trick. Aerrow waited a heartbeat while Radarr searched amid the green, then his head appeared with a triumphant smile on his furry face. He was holding something in one paw, brandishing it proudly. Aerrow grinned.

"Good job, Radarr!" he said, catching his friend as he jumped down from the branch. "Now, what did you find?"

Radarr handed him the bundled object and leaped to the ground. Aerrow raised an eyebrow, inquisitive. It was some kind of fabric, miraculously unharmed by the branches, with only the merest stains of green on the edge. He sat down beside the tree trunk and unfolded the fabric. His eyes widened. It looked like a flag. It was all white, with a blue symbol painted in the centre on both sides. It was the shape of a bird, its wings partly unfolded like it was about to soar off into the sky. At least, to Aerrow's mind, that's what it looked like. Aerrow ran his hand over the bird.

"Wow," he breathed. "It's beautiful."

He furrowed his brow, eyes narrowed.

"And it looks sort of...familiar." he said.

Radarr tilted his head. The symbol didn't ring a bell to him, but Aerrow's mind was spinning. It was like those distant memories from his early childhood were trying to come back. He could feel it, vague, ghostly images trying to be seen, pushing against the barriers that held them back. It was on the tip of his tongue, just barely out of reach. But it was still too far for him. He shook his head and came back to reality. He still didn't know what this symbol meant, or whatever his connection to it was. But it looked like a sky knight symbol, like the images they'd paint on their armour and the ones that flew proudly on flags high above their terras. This had to be a flag like that. A flag for a sky knight squadron.

He looked over at his friend.

"Let's head back to the others." he said, standing up while still carrying the flag.

Radarr scurried up to his shoulder and Aerrow jogged back down to join Finn and Piper. As he'd figured, they'd been arguing. Specifically about whose turn it was to make dinner.

"I did it last time!' said Finn. "And we all agreed that after me, it was your turn next!"

"I'm still not done the map!" Piper responded, showing his the paper.

Finn glanced at it, internally marvelling at how complex it looked, but still determined to win the argument.

"It looks finished to me." he said.

"Well, it isn't. I still need to add a few more details."

"Well, you can just add them in later!"

"I would if it was my turn to cook! As I recall, it was Aerrow who did it yesterday, not you."

Finn crossed his arms, about to retort when he spotted Aerrow himself returning.

"Well, we'll just have to ask him whose turn it is." he said, indicating their approaching leader.

For once, Piper agreed with him. Better to have a third party settle the dispute.

"Hey Aerrow! Whose turn is it to make dinner, Piper's or mine?"

He expected the redhead to say it was Piper's, not onky because he was sure it was her turn, but her cooking was actually quite a bit better than his or Aerrow's, even though he wouldn't actually admit it to Piper herself. But Aerrow didn't seem all that concerned with food at the moment.

"Forget dinner for a second, guys," he said, much to their surprise. "Look at this." he unfolded the fabric in his hands and held it up for them to see.

Piper, having set aside her map, approached. Finn blinked.

"Whoa," he breathed, leaning closer to look at the blue bird symbol. "What is it? Some kind of flag?"

Aerrow nodded.

"Radarr found it in that huge willow tree over there. I think it's for a sky knight squadron, but I can't tell which one." he looked over at the blue-haired girl. "I was thinking maybe you knew?"

She squinted.

"It does look familiar." she said. "I'm sure I've seen it in a book before."

She went to pick up her backpack, which was slightly bulging from its contents and pulled put, with some difficulty, a small paperback book, then brought it to the boys.

"I bought this a few terras back." she said, showing them the book before opening it and beginning to flip through. "It's supposed to be a record of some of the most famous sky knight squadrons. I thought you guys might like it, but I never had the chance to read it myself."

The four briefly skimmed over each page before Piper would flip to the next one. Aerrow frowned and shook his head at each negative result. However, near the end of the little book, his eyes finally caught sight of it: a bird with wings partly unfolded!

"There!" he said, pointing. "That's it!"

He spread the flag out on the ground and Piper placed the book down next to it. The book was in shades of brown and sepia with no additional colour, but it was an exact match! He read the title above:

"The storm hawks,"

Why did that sound vaguely familiar?

"Wow, these guys are so cool!" Finn breathed. "Check this out!" he pointed to a long paragraph on the opposite page under the title 'Accomplishments'. "It says that the storm hawks freed a dozen terras from cyclonian control single-handed with no help from other sky knights! And that they liberated all of their slave mines in the eastern skies! Oh! And this guy, Lightning Strike, their leader," he pointed to a man in the middle of a photo under the title, "he became a sky knight when he was only 16!"

"Wow!" Aerrow stared wide-eyed in awe at the man in the picture.

Lightning Strike did look every inch the great leader. His armour in the picture seemed new and gleaming, he was tall and strong, and even in the stillness of the photo, his eyes seemed alight with a brave fire that burned with confidence, as though he could defeat every cyclonian in his path and he knew it.

"That's amazing!"

Finn nodded eagerly.

"I know!" he squealed giddily. "I mean, these guys are almost as awesome as Carver of the red eagles!"

He beamed at the mention of his favourite sky knight. The other three rolled their eyes. It was typical of Finn to bring him up. He'd been a member of the "Carver Fanclub" back on Terra Sparrow, and he always wanted to play as him in their sky knight games.

"Yes, Finn, Carver's 'awesome' and all," said Piper. "But I don't think HE was knighted at 16."

"Well, okay, that's true." Finn conceded. "But he's still the best sky knight there is!"

Piper gasped.

"Are you forgetting about Starling of the interceptors?!" she said, sounding defensive for her own favourite sky knight. "If anyone's the best sky knight, it's gotta be her!"

Now it was Finn's turn to roll his eyes.

"Puh-lease. So she's one of the best sky-fu fighters in the Atmos and you have a huge crush on her, that doesn't mean-"

Before their disagreement could escalate into yet another fight, Aerrow interrupted.

"Guys, I was thinking, so, if this is the storm hawks' flag we found," he held up the flag, "do you think this could be the storm hawks' terra?"

Radarr chirruped happily and the two bickering friends blinked wide eyes.

"You think?!" Finn asked, sounding curious and excited.

"Maybe. It-it could be!" Piper said, immediately grabbing the book again and scanning the text eagerly. "Let me just see if this mentions anything about terras-Oh," her face fell and her voice dropped to a sad whisper.

Aerrow looked over at her, worried at this sudden change.

"What is it?" he asked. "What does it say?"

Piper pointed at the passage she'd just read.

"It says that the storm hawks were killed." she said. "They were betrayed, by Lightning's co-pilot!"

Aerrow gasped, and Radarr let out a shocked screech. He clambered to Piper's shoulder to see for himself. She showed him the book and Radarr read the line she pointed at. Indeed, Lightning Strike's own co-pilot had been a traitor. Radarr felt sick. He looked over at Aerrow, but instead of seeming mistrustful or wary, his boy gently took Radarr in his arms and held him close like when they were both little. The animal clung to him tightly. He would never betray his boy. Never!

"What happened after that?" Aerrow asked, still cradling his best friend tenderly.

Piper turned her eyes back to the book.

"It says that, after killing his leader, the traitor attacked the rest of his squadron and all the other sky knights who'd been with them. Then he joined Cyclonia, where he became the Dark Ace."

Finn gulped.

"I've heard of the Dark Ace." he said. "Apparently he's Master Cyclonis's right hand man, and he's never lost a sky duel!"

"I've heard that too." said Aerrow. "Back before I escaped my home terra, the other prisoners were always afraid of the Dark Ace. From what I can remember," he looked at the ground as he tried to conjure the memories, and frowning when he did, "they said that he was the one who enslaved our terra, and that he's killed more sky knights than all the other cyclonian generals combined."

The others nodded. All agreed that the Dark Ace was probably the most dangerous man in the Atmos. Finn shuddered.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about him anymore." he said.

Aerrow nodded.

"Good idea," then he turned to Piper, "Does the book say anything else?"

Piper read over the page and shook her head.

"Nothing really important," she said. "But I guess it doesn't have all the complete information."

"So, nothing on the storm hawks' terra." Finn guessed.

He sounded a bit disappointed. Admittedly, Aerrow too wished they could've known. He lifted his gaze from the book and let it wander over the whole terra.

"Well, even if this isn't the storm hawks' terra," he said, making his friends look up, "I've got a good feeling about this place." he smiled at them. "It's quiet and calm. We know there's an inhabited terra nearby so we can find everything we need. Maybe we should," he hesitated, "Maybe we should stay."

Piper blinked in surprise.

"And I don't mean just long enough to refill our supplies. I mean, maybe we could stay...for good."

Finn considered the matter, looking around at the rest of the terra. He smiled.

"It'd be nice to actually have a place of our own again." he said. "Plus, drifting's great and all, but it's exhausting. I say we stay!"

Radarr made a happy screech in agreement, jumping onto Aerrow's shoulder. Clearly the idea of staying appealed to him too.

"We could have a home again." Piper said, her face also lighting up with a smile.

Aerrow grinned.

"Then it's decided: we'll stay." said Aerrow, getting to his feet. "And this time, we will NOT let those cyclonians take it from us!"

"That's right!" Piper said, standing. "We're not kids anymore! We can protect ourselves, and our terra!"

"Yes!" Finn leapt up, pumping his fists excitedly. "We can be our own sky knight squadron! And we can have, like, a battle fort or something!" his blue eyes sparkled at the idea. "With lookout towers and plenty of blasters," he held out his arms as though he were aiming a weapon, "so whenever any cyclonians come knocking, KAPOW!" he made a sound like a explosion, as though his imaginary blaster had just hit a cyclonian battle ship.

Aerrow stared at his friend.

"How about we start with just a fort?" he cautiously suggested. "And then we'll see from there."

"A fort is already a good start." Piper agreed. "It'll take us a while to build it."

"We can do it." Aerrow said confidently. "I know we can."

At that moment, there was a loud grumbling noise. Aerrow's eyes widened, and he glanced down at his stomach, from which the sound had emanated. He now realized that he was starving!

"Maybe we should make dinner first." he smiled sheepishly at his friends, who laughed and began digging for the last of their supplies.

That night, they moved their things to the huge willow tree and slept under its protective shade. The storm hawks flag lay between them, a symbol of their future and of all the dangers, battles and adventures to come.

...

This was the day. Junko knew it. He'd waited for it, prepared himself for it, and now it was here. He breathed in deeply, gazing up at the gleaming ship with the red symbol painted on its side. It was shaped like a bird of prey, its wings curled as though prepared to swoop down to attack. Before long, he knew he'd be wearing that symbol, as a member of the cyclonian youth brigade.

The cyclonians had come to Terra Wallop almost a month ago, asking Chief Guntharr for an alliance. They needed the wallops and their renown strength to aid them in their mission, to bring order and peace to Atmos. They offered to grant the wallops a great deal of power when they achieved success, in exchange for some of their strongest youths to train as future cyclonians. Guntharr had refused, but Junko had found himself moved the words of the cyclonian envoys. So he'd packed his things, including his new knuckle-busters, and sent a letter to the envoys offering to join their youth brigade. Now, they had sent a ship to take him to their training camp.

Junko felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see his aunt. She was looking down at him with, and Junko was shocked to see this, sadness in her eyes. Sadness and...regret.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Junko?" she asked.

He nodded.

"I'm sure."

Eunice pursed her lips.

"You know you don't have to. You don't have to prove anything by sighing up for this."

Junko took his aunt's hand in his own and smiled as reassuringly up at her as he could.

"Don't worry, aunty. I'm not doing this for anyone here. I'm doing it for me. I want to use my strength to help someone, be a good guy and a hero like in all the stories we read as kids. This is my chance to do that!"

Eunice blinked, and Junko thought for a moment that his aunt, this iron woman, was going to cry. But instead, she wrapped him up in a hug.

"If you ever want to come back." she said. "You know I'll be there, understand?"

Smiling, he nodded and squeezed her back. When he pulled away, he gave her one last smile and boarded the ship.

...

It was very dark in the cavern, but the guardians could still see each other quite clearly. And it was hard not to notice how their numbers had diminished from their last meeting.

"It's a disaster." growled the guardian in black. "In just one year, two guardians have died. Two gone, in just one year! Now look at us." he trained his gaze miserably over the others and shook his head. "Only four guardians left."

"Five," said the colourful man beside him. "My niece is still alive, may I remind you."

He sounded more somber than they'd ever heard him. But then, it wasn't too surprising. His sister's death had shaken him, changed him. In the months since, they had barely even seen him smile, except in front of his said niece, and even then, they could see how much it was forced. The guardian clad in silver sighed.

"Kaya is barely more than a child. She may have great power, but she's still training. And after what happened to her mother...It'll be years before she can be considered a real guardian."

He looked sadly at their leader.

"But he's right, master. Things are looking very grim."

It was an understatement, they knew. Not only had they lost two guardians, but two of Lightning Strike's three children had died as well. The eldest had been killed by cyclonians barely a day after Tempo had died. Having heard of the rampage on Terra Sparrow, he'd left his terra to exact vengeance on the talons for attacking and murdering so many innocent civilians. The guardians didn't want to think of what he might've done if he'd known that his brother was on that terra too. They had failed to protect him, failed to stop him from racing into the cyclonians' trap like a fly in a spider web.

His sister had, thankfully, not been so rash. Instead of striking out directly, she'd survived, kept her head down and avoided being caught by the cyclonians and their talon soldiers. But alas, they'd found her only the night before, when the guardians had been away to comfort Arygyn's orphaned niece. They'd thought she was safe, and they had been wrong. They'd returned only to find her corpse. Now, only Aerrow was left, the last child, the last descendant of Lightning Strike, and they had no clue where he was.

"We should've listened to Tempo. We should've started looking for the kid as soon as that attack was over." Arygyn grumbled.

His black-clad neighbour nodded sadly.

"He might be dead by the morning." he said. "There's no way a child could survive in the Atmos all alone. He might be in the empire's clutches right now, for all we know!"

His sorrowful tone had turned to anger, and he grunted harshly in frustration.

"What good is omnipotence if you can't use it to protect a single child!"

Just then, the leader lifted his head. The guardians all turned to him. Their master didn't speak often, preferring to hear out his fellows and consider all sides of a discussion, but when he did, they all knew to listen.

"He might not be. The boy has survived on his own so far. Remember, he was on Terra Nimbus at his father's death, and we all know how eager Cyclonia was to make an example of it and its people."

They nodded. They all knew what horrors the people of Nimbus had been subjected to.

"And yet Aerrow survived it. More than that, he's thrived. He won't let himself be brought down so easily. I believe there is still hope."

He looked at each guardian in turn, at their worried, anxious eyes.

"We will set out at once to search for him." he said. "Arygyn, you are closest to the atmosians. See if you can learn anything through them."

The colourful man nodded. Despite how heavy his grief felt, he could feel, somewhere beneath it, the glimmer of hope.

"I will see to Kaya's training." continued the leader. "She may have a part to play in the future, and she will need all her strength for it. You two," he turned to the remaining guardians, "will search for Aerrow. Scour the entire Atmos if you have to. He is the last hope we have against the coming storm, and he must be ready for it."

With that, the meeting was over. As the two guardians, one silver, one black, set out to search for the last descendant of Lightning Strike, they felt that this was the beginning of something. Of what, they could not be sure. But maybe, hopefully, it could mean the end of the war, peace, and freedom in Atmos once more.


End file.
